Politics, Legal & Regulation

March 12, 2017 @ 9:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Innovate Finance, the group that champion’s Fintech innovation in the UK and around the world, has shared the opinion of their Policy and Research Team on the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Phillip Hammond’s Spring Budget. Innovate Finance said they were pleased with the announcement that technical… Read More

March 12, 2017 @ 6:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

Entrepreneurship and the creation of small business is vital to the economic growth of the country and the welfare of the nation. This is a simple, indisputable fact. Yet too frequently, small business and entrepreneurs get pushed to the side as policymakers and regulators focus… Read More

March 10, 2017 @ 7:12 am By JD Alois  |  

The subcommittee on Capital Markets, Securities, and Investments, part of the House Financial Services Committee, has scheduled a hearing to review the JOBS Act: the law the created the various iterations of investment crowdfunding. The hearing entitled, “The JOBS Act at Five: Examining Its Impact… Read More

March 9, 2017 @ 6:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry, Vice Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Senator Heidi Heitkamp both released comments on H.R. 1219 / S 444. The Supporting America’s Innovators Act of 2017 amends an exemption under the Investment Company Act of 1940 by increasing… Read More

March 9, 2017 @ 5:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) approved six bills today, each designed to improve the environment for small business. All of these bills had previously passed the Committee in a prior iteration. Several had been approved by the full House. HFCS Chairman Jeb Hensarling commented… Read More

March 9, 2017 @ 8:49 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has concluded a “proof-of-concept project” to conduct domestic inter-bank payments using distributed ledger technology (DLT) also commonly referenced as Blockchain. The project, in partnership with R31 and a consortium2 of financial institutions, was first announced in November 2016. “This wholesale payments project… Read More

March 9, 2017 @ 8:29 am By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA) and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have announced a “Co-operation Framework” to support innovative Fintech firms. This “Exchange of Letters” between the JFSA and the FCA is intended to provide a regulatory referral system for “Innovator Businesses”… Read More

March 9, 2017 @ 4:41 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Yesterday, on International Women’s Day, MobiKwik co-founder Upasana Taku wrote to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to consider the passage of Women’s Reservation Bill, which is aimed to reserve 33% of seats in Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies for women. Taku indicted that Mobikwik… Read More

March 8, 2017 @ 1:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond delivered the final Spring budget today. Many policy questions persist as the UK separates itself from the European Union: Will the UK be able to maintain its leading economic status in Europe? Will the UK hold onto its dominance… Read More

March 8, 2017 @ 7:59 am By JD Alois  |  

  The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) have signed a “Cooperation Agreement” (CA) to encourage closer cooperation on the development Fintech. The agreement seeks to foster entrepreneurship and support innovation in financial services in both Singapore and Abu Dhabi. … Read More

March 7, 2017 @ 10:21 am By JD Alois  |  

Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry delivered a speech yesterday (March 6, 2017) at the annual LendIt conference where he discussed his recent proposal for a Fintech Charter. The OCC Fintech Charter, as it is described, is designed to bring innovative financial firms under… Read More

March 6, 2017 @ 10:20 am By Amy Wan  |  

It seems that at least once a week nowadays, I get a call asking whether an initial coin offering (ICO) is regulated at all, and the question came to a head at a recent Legal Hackers LA discussion on smart contracts by Daniel Rice. The… Read More

March 6, 2017 @ 7:30 am By JD Alois  |  

LendInvest, an online property finance marketplace, is demanding the government to revise its treatment of small and medium-sized property investment and development companies. Noting that four in five SMEhouse builders have disappeared since last housebuilding boom, LendInvest is calling on the government to recognize the… Read More

March 6, 2017 @ 7:14 am By JD Alois  |  

Stuart Law, CEO and co-founder of P2P lender Assetz Capital, expects a boost for the peer to peer lending sector in the upcoming budget. Specifically, Law believes a small business tax rise and IFISA rule change could boost the online lending sector. “In just a few… Read More

March 3, 2017 @ 1:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), under the auspices of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA), published a white paper on Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) earlier this week. The report, written by Vladimir Ivanov and Anzhela Knyazeva, is basically a point in time… Read More

March 1, 2017 @ 8:13 am By JD Alois  |  

SyndicateRoom, a leading equity crowdfunding platform, has been championing IPO reform for some time now.  Gonçalo de Vasconcelos, CEO and co-founder of SyndicateRoom, welcomed the announcement earlier today that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a consultation paper addressing existing shortcomings in the IPO… Read More

March 1, 2017 @ 7:56 am By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a consultation paper on the initial public offering (IPO) process. The paper is part of an initiative designed to reform the UK IPO ecosystem by improving the quality of information provided to market participants. Christopher Woolard, Executive Director… Read More

February 28, 2017 @ 12:00 pm By Gillian Roche-Saunders  |  

This morning every P2P platform received a Dear CEO letter from the FCA, stating that platforms should not facilitate loans to a party who lends those monies onwards, unless that party is authorised for accepting deposits.  The issue here is really with the underlying lenders… Read More

February 28, 2017 @ 7:44 am By JD Alois  |  

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has published draft “Terms of Reference” outlining how it intends to review whether the operators of CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System) and Faster Payments Scheme (FPS), need to play an expanded role to reduce consumer harm caused by particular… Read More

February 28, 2017 @ 6:49 am By Erin Hobey  |  

rebuildingsociety.com has been awarded full authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority in recognition of our compliance with sector-specific regulations, according to its blog. Authorization means that the platform meets FCA standards and may now offer the Innovative Finance ISA.  Accepting loan applications in September 2012, UK-based… Read More