April 14, 2018 @ 1:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

Malta, a Mediterranean country that wants be known as Blockchain Island, has published a “Financial Instrument Test” as it seeks to clarify questions regarding initial coin offerings (ICOs) and when a digital asset is a security and when it is not. The Malta Financial Services… Read More

February 26, 2018 @ 4:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

The European Commission has launched a consultation as to how to better define a Small and Mid-sized Enterprise – commonly referenced as an SME. This definition is important as it can be used as a basis for policy decisions.  SMEs are the engines of economic… Read More

February 22, 2018 @ 4:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Autorité Des Marchés Financiers (AMF) in France has just published the results of a consultation regarding initial coin offerings (ICOs). According to the AMF, a large majority of respondents expressed support for the establishment of an appropriate legal framework for this new type of fundraising. The… Read More

February 14, 2018 @ 2:39 pm By JD Alois  |  

The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) has published a notice on Fintech. This notice is designed to help “set out the results of the consultations and seek comment on potential regulatory action to clarify or modernize securities laws to benefit all stakeholders, including investors in… Read More

November 21, 2017 @ 8:52 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has launched a second consultation on a payments regulatory framework, known as the Payment Services Bill. The Bill is designed to streamline the regulation of payment services under a single legislation, expand the scope of regulated payment activities to… Read More

November 15, 2017 @ 5:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

The French Autorités Des Marchés Financiers (AMF) announced a consultation on Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) at the end of the October. Crowdfund Insider published the document when it was first announced. Today, we are sharing an English version that may be consumed by a wider audience…. Read More

August 16, 2017 @ 10:32 am By JD Alois  |  

Last month, the European Commission, Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets division, launched a consultation on non-performing loans being held by banks. The Commission is seeking feedback on the development of secondary markets for distressed debt. Policymakers view this as essential in tackling the… Read More

August 4, 2017 @ 8:17 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK government has proposed a  new “National Investment Fund” launched to help innovative UK start-ups become “world-leading unicorns”.  According to HM Treasury, the Fund will ostensibly fill a £4 billion funding gap between US and UK firms and boost investment into entrepreneurial firms. HM… Read More

June 21, 2017 @ 10:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is out with two consultation papers that are guides for crowd-sourced funding (or investment crowdfunding). The first, “Crowd-sourced funding: Guide for public companies,” is consultation seeking feedback for proposed guidance on public companies raising capital online. The second, “Crowd-sourced funding:… Read More

June 16, 2017 @ 3:33 pm By Cole Lyons  |  

  The Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) recently published their response to the European Commission’s Consultation, “FinTech: a more competitive and innovative European Financial Sector.” In their response, they listed three principles that they believe will be vital for the development of the Fintech… Read More

June 15, 2017 @ 7:17 am By JD Alois  |  

The European Commission public consultation on Fintech ends today. Launched in March, the consultation was created to better understand how Europe can engender a more competitive and innovative financial sector. The feedback will hopefully help guide the Commission how Fintech can make the EU Single Market… Read More

June 7, 2017 @ 3:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this year, the European Commission published a consultation paper on Fintech. Entitled, “Fintech: A More Competitve and Innovative European Financial Sector,” comments are starting to be published as the deadline nears (June 15, 2017). The ESMA published their comments today. The consultation was predicated… Read More

June 7, 2017 @ 2:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

Response Specifically Targets, AI, Crowdfunding, Blockchain, Regtech & More. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has responded to the European Commission consultation paper on “Fintech: a more competitive and innovative financial sector”. The ESMA welcomed the initiative to take a stock-take of the EU’s… Read More

June 7, 2017 @ 2:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has published a consultation on the regulation of Robo-Advisors or “Digital Advisory Services.” The consultation will close on July 7, 2017. The MAS proposal seeks to support innovation in financial services by recognising the unique characteristics of digital platforms…. Read More

April 28, 2017 @ 9:41 am By JD Alois  |  

  Last week, the government of Ireland announced a Public Consultation on the Regulation of Crowdfunding. Currently, crowdfunding is not a regulated activity in Ireland. The Irish Minister for finance, Michael Noonan T.D. commented on the consultation; “Ensuring that the development of this exciting and… 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

December 13, 2014 @ 4:14 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Treasury officially announced the inclusion of peer to peer loans in Individual Savings Accounts (ISA’s) back in October 2014. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne included the announcement in the 2014 Budget presentation.  ISA’s were adjusted in July of 2014 slightly increasing the… Read More

March 27, 2014 @ 12:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

In sifting through the various public comments on the European crowdfunding consultation that was just released it was interesting to see an unsigned comment letter from NASDAQ OMX. NASDAQ OMX is a trading / exchange platform that operates across six different continents and today powers… Read More

March 27, 2014 @ 9:22 am By JD Alois  |  

As part of an initiative launched last Fall, the European Commission has published the responses to a consultation on crowdfunding.  While the commenting period closed on December 31, 2013, the document was published on March 27, 2014 as was widely expected. The EC received a… Read More