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Fintech Banking & Finance Crypto 14 March 2022

Welcome to this week's global fintech round-up, summarising fintech regulatory developments that have happened around the world along with our Clifford Chance fintech publications and upcoming events. 

Details of these and previous developments can also be found on our Fintech Topic Guide on the Clifford Chance Financial Markets Toolkit.

CLIFFORD CHANCE BRIEFINGS AND MATERIALS

SPOTLIGHT: Digital syndicated loans market fact or fiction?

In a podcast originally recorded for the Loan Market Association, Clifford Chance lawyers and tech experts share their insights on digitalisation in the syndicated loan market, exploring technological developments, the challenges faced by the industry and debating the elusive question – is a digital syndicated loans market fact or fiction? Listen and find out.

GLOBAL LEGAL AND REGULATORY UPDATES

Americas

US:  

  • (9 Mar 2022) Executive order on digital assets issued by President Joe Biden. The executive order sets out a national, government-wide approach to addressing the risks and harnessing the benefits of digital assets. The policy focuses on: consumer and investor protection; financial stability; illicit finance; US leadership and competitiveness; financial inclusion; and responsible innovation. It directs federal agencies to work together to introduce measures that focus on these policy priorities, but does not specify what position or regulatory actions the administration wants agencies to adopt. | Press release | Clifford Chance summary
  • (9 Mar 2022) Securities and Exchange Commission proposed rule introducing amendments to the Investment Advisers Act and the Investment Company Act, which are intended to enhance and standardise disclosures regarding cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance and incident reporting by public companies. Comments are due by 11 April 2022. | Press release

APAC

Australia:     

  • (3 Mar 2022) Speech by the Chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Joe Longo, on ASIC's priorities for 2022. Priorities in the digital finance space include addressing the deceptive promotion of riskier asset classes, such as cryptoassets, and preventing investment 'gamification' on digital platforms.

The Philippines:         

Singapore:   

  • (2 Mar 2022) Reply from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to a question from the Parliamentary Committee of Supply on the case for a Singaporean CBDC (the digital sing dollar). MAS notes that it has experimented with CBDCs, particularly wholesale CBDCs, but does not feel there is currently a sufficiently strong use case for their introduction in Singapore.

Thailand:      

  • (8 Mar 2022) The Cabinet has approved a draft decree under the Revenue Code, which will introduce value-added tax (VAT) exemptions for transfers of cryptocurrencies or digital tokens on authorised exchanges, and for transfers involving Thailand's retail CBDC. The exemptions will apply from 1 April 2022 until 31 December 2023. | Press release (in Thai)

Europe

EU:  

  • (9 Mar 2022) The EU Commission has issued a statement on the extension of the scope of sanctions on Russia and Belarus in light of the crisis in Ukraine. The statement clarifies, among other things, that the sanctions cover cryptoassets, which the Commission defines as 'transferable securities', and that loans and credit provided using cryptoassets will not be permitted. | Press release
  • (7 Mar 2022) Twitter thread (in German) from MEP Stefan Berger, in which he confirms that the EU Parliament's Committee on Economics and Monetary Affairs will vote on the Markets in Cryptoassets (MiCA) proposal on 14 March 2022. Berger, who is the rapporteur for the bill, notes that the version being voted on does not contain a previously included provision which prohibited proof-of-work crypto-mining.
  • (4 Mar 2022) Association for Financial Markets in Europe response to the European Securities and Markets Authority call for evidence on the proposed distributed ledger technology pilot regime.

France:          

  • (28 Jan 2022) Report (in French) from the Haut Comité Juridique de la Place Financière de Paris (a joint initiative of the Banque de France and the Autorité des marchés financiers), which considers the insurability of cyber and ransomware risks.

Luxembourg:              

  • (8 Mar 2022) Law of 25 February 2022 (in French), which has entered into force. The Law implements the EU regulation on crowdfunding service providers for business in Luxembourg.

UK:

  • (9 Mar 2022) Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports summary of the responses received to the Government's proposed plan for digital regulation. The summary also sets out next steps, which include the publication of a Digital Strategy in 2022.

Ukraine:       

  • (27 Feb 2022) Tweet from Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, calling for crypto-exchanges to block addresses of Russian users.

Middle East

UAE:

  • (9 Mar 2022) Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice President, has announced he has approved the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulation Law, which will establish a legal framework for virtual assets in Dubai. He also announced the establishment of the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority, which will be responsible for licensing and regulating the virtual asset sector across Dubai Mainland and Free Zone territories (with the exception of the Dubai International Financial Centre). | Press release

EVENTS

Global Perspectives Series: Putting digital ethics back on the agenda (29 March 2022):

There is a growing spotlight on ethical principles such as fairness, transparency, accountability and access in tech. As the framework around digital ethics continues to evolve, Clifford Chance Counsel Jamal El-Hindi and Senior Associate Arnav Joshi will sit down with Professor Victoria Nash of the University of Oxford to discuss the hot topics for regulators, where the grey areas exist and how to deal with key ethical considerations. | To register, please see the event registration form.

Warsaw Perspectives Series: Legal, regulatory and product challenges in insurance in light of cybersecurity and new technologies (6 April 2022):

IT systems, artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analysis tools are all being increasingly used by companies in the insurance sector but are also potentially sources of significant risk. Insurance companies and distributors are exposed to the regulatory risk associated with the creation and distribution of insurance products, and their clients to cyber risk and the risk associated with technological service providers. During this seminar, Clifford Chance Counsel Marta Bieniada will discuss how to take advantage of the benefits of technology in a way that is effective and safe for both clients and the firms offering the innovative services. Please note this seminar will be held in Polish. | For more information and to register, please see the event page

Global Perspectives Series: What is the Metaverse? Will it change the world, and why should I care? (26 April 2022):

As a growing number of companies start to invest heavily in the Metaverse, Clifford Chance's panel of experts will consider the practical applications it's likely to have and explore the legal issues that may arise as it grows. With questions of data security, privacy, IP, copyright, antitrust, diversity and ethics starting to be linked to the Metaverse, our experts will analyse whether problems of the real world could take on a new, more worrying dimension in a virtual one. And as global banks start to take a presence in the Metaverse, our speakers will review the implications of a new economy opening up where wealth can be created, traded and enhanced using new digital currencies. | To register, please see the event registration form.

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