Politics, Legal & Regulation

February 1, 2017 @ 10:00 pm By Therese Torris  |  

With more than 1700 participants from 35 countries, the recent Paris Fintech Forum demonstrated the strength of the French Fintech ecosystem and the attractiveness of Paris as a financial center. French officials and financial regulators participated in the event with a strong delegation and asserted… Read More

January 31, 2017 @ 8:08 am By JD Alois  |  

Australia is embracing the innovation of Fintech. The advancement in the rest of the world has not been ignored.  Seeing opportunity, the Australian government has been working on crafting an environment where rules do not hinder financial innovation and regulations are crafted to encourage competition… Read More

January 31, 2017 @ 5:37 am By Erin Hobey  |  

From the 48% to Theresa May: In less than one week, over 3,280 people have funded a Crowdfunder.co.uk campaign that will give a voice to the silenced millions who do not support the government’s Brexit plans. Having smashed their original £25,000 target in under 12 hours,… Read More

January 30, 2017 @ 2:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

Under a backdrop of a tumultuous few days for the Trump Administration, President Trump signed another Executive Order – this time addressing reducing regulation and controlling regulatory cost, largely for smaller business. In a press event, President signed the order while criticizing Dodd-Frank indicating this… Read More

January 30, 2017 @ 1:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

The United Kingdom has dominated the Fintech sector globally.  Starting with innovations in capital formation from crowdfunding and peer to peer lending platforms, the UK has fostered an impressive ecosystem of Fintech entrepreneurs. While a culture of innovation and risk-taking has been vital to this… Read More

January 29, 2017 @ 9:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this month, Ireland sent a delegation of public officials to visit Hong Kong and advocate on behalf of the country as a “gateway” for China to the European market.  The delegation participated in the 10th Asian Financial Forum. Eoghan Murphy TD, Minister of State for… Read More

January 29, 2017 @ 2:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

The European Crowdfunding Network (ECN), a pan-European alternative finance advocacy group, is asking members to participate regarding input on the Capital Markets Union.  Specifically, the ECN will be working with the Directorate‑General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (DG FISMA) regarding input on… Read More

January 29, 2017 @ 10:07 am By JD Alois  |  

As part of its efforts to achieve a Capital Markets Union (CMU), the European Commission has launched a public consultation on the planned CMU mid-term review. This consultation offers an opportunity for stakeholders to provide targeted input to complement and advance actions put forward in… Read More

January 27, 2017 @ 11:24 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Birmingham City Council is joining forces with ART Business Loans and P2P lender ThinCats  to assist Birmingham SMEs that are unable to obtain any or all financing needed from high street banks, reported the Birmingham News. “Peer to peer finance solves two problems at once;… Read More

January 26, 2017 @ 8:33 am By JD Alois  |  

The European Parliament has published a report entitled: Crowdfunding in Europe – Introduction and State of Play. The short document is basically a synopsis on the status of crowdfunding in Europe. The report notes that while crowdfunding has grown rapidly, much of this growth has occurred in… Read More

January 25, 2017 @ 11:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

The current Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has engendered much respect from the land of Fintech. An unabashed supporter of the potential for financial innovation to improve financial services for all, Carney has periodically addressed the subject of Fintech with pointed speeches…. Read More

January 25, 2017 @ 10:11 am By JD Alois  |  

Breathometer, the “world’s first smartphone breathalyzer”, raised $138,437 on Indiegogo back in 2013. The following year, Breathometer visited the studios of Shark Tank where founder Charles Michael Yim “blew the sharks out of the water.” He asked for a mere $250,000.  And what happened? All… Read More

January 24, 2017 @ 11:19 am By JD Alois  |  

Karen Kerrigan, President and CEO of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) has declared her organization’s strong support for President Trump’s selection to manage the Small Business Administration. Trump has picked Linda McMahon an entrepreneur who scaled and built the highly successful World… Read More

January 24, 2017 @ 8:38 am By Erin Hobey  |  

“We can do online voting on blockchain in a highly scalable way, and that’s what we did.” Focusing on solving the problem of securing public, private and proxy global election systems, Votem offers a blockchain-based solution which aims to give democracy back to the people by allowing… Read More

January 23, 2017 @ 9:23 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, Prime Minister Theresa May revealed her vision for a modern industrial strategy for the UK. The policy proposal was released during her first regional cabinet meeting. May is engaged in a tight-rope walk of policy as she manages ramifications of Brexit while crafting an… Read More

January 22, 2017 @ 2:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

The concept of a Fintech Charter for emerging firms in the financial services industry has generated plenty of attention on Capitol Hill and with Fintech entrepreneurs. Originally pitched by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency towards the end of last year, a comment… Read More

January 22, 2017 @ 9:44 am By JD Alois  |  

Brexit fallout has created an “all-hands” situation for the UK. Departing the EU poses many challenges including the possibility for a diminished access to the single market. Prime Minister Theresa May, entrusted to manage one of the most challenging policy environment in recent history, has… Read More

January 21, 2017 @ 3:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

“If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old” ― Peter F. Drucker The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) rattled the cages of big finance and state regulators in proposing a possible “Fintech Charter” to license and regulate emerging… Read More

January 20, 2017 @ 1:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

FINRA has published a report (embedded below) on Blockchain or Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and its implications for the securities industry. The publication is entitled; “Distributed Ledger Technology: Implications of Blockchain for the Securities Industry.” FINRA, or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is the self-regulatory organization… Read More

January 17, 2017 @ 5:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

    I expect to see more of these comment letters as battle lines have clearly been drawn regarding the debate on the proposed Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Fintech Charter. In brief, the OCC has proposed crafting a Fintech Charter for… Read More