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Global Fintech Update

09 November 2022

Fintech Banking & Finance Crypto 9 November 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

Ready to issue? Long-awaited publication of requirements for German electronic securities registers

On 29 October 2022, the German Regulation on requirements for electronic securities registers (Verordnung über Anforderungen an elektronische Wertpapierregister, eWpRV) entered into force increasing legal certainty for registrars and participants. The eWpRV specifies certain requirements for electronic securities registers maintained under the German Electronic Securities Act (Gesetz über elektronische Wertpapiere), which, since June 2021, has allowed for issuing bearer bonds and certain investment fund units electronically. The eWpRV now sets out the specifics of how issuers and (predominantly) registrars can comply with some of their obligations under the German Electronic Securities Act.

GLOBAL LEGAL AND REGULATORY UPDATES, INDUSTRY GUIDANCE AND PUBLICATIONS

International

  • (2 Nov 2022) The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub has launched a new project around central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and Decentralised Finance (DeFi) protocols as part of its 2022 work programme. Project Mariana will explore automated market makers for the cross-border exchange of hypothetical Swiss franc, euro and Singapore dollar wholesale CBDCs. It will seek to examine the potential between financial institutions to settle foreign exchange trades in financial markets. The project involves the Eurosystem, Singapore and Switzerland BIS Innovation Hub Centres together with the Bank of France, Monetary Authority of Singapore and Swiss National Bank. | BIS press release | Banque de France press release

Americas

Canada:       

  • (3 Nov 2022) Canada Federal Government 2022 Fall Economic Statement, which includes a section on the digitalisation of money and announces consultations with stakeholders on digital currencies, including cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and CBDCs. | Press release

US:  

  • (4 Nov 2022) Federal Reserve Bank of New York report on the Phase I results of Project Cedar, the inaugural project of its New York Innovation Center. Project Cedar is a multiphase research effort to develop a technical framework for a theoretical wholesale CBDC in the Federal Reserve context through exploration of fundamental design choices and modular technical features. | Press release
  • (4 Nov 2022) Speech by Executive Vice President and Head of Markets of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Michelle Neal, on advances in digital currency experimentation, in which she discussed some of the ways that the Federal Reserve System is engaging in research and experimentation that support ongoing innovation, including the New York Innovation Center and Project Cedar.

APAC

Australia:     

  • (7 Nov 2022) Australian Securities & Investments Commission press release warning consumers of the key signs of a crypto scam and advising what to do if they have been scammed.

Hong Kong:

  • (31 Oct 2022) Speech by Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Eddie Yue, to open the Hong Kong FinTech Week 2022.

Singapore:   

  • (3 Nov 2022) The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has launched Ubin+, an expanded collaboration with international partners on cross-border foreign exchange settlement using wholesale CBDCs. | Press release
  • (3 Nov 2022) Speech by MAS Managing Director, Ravi Menon, in which he discussed five desired outcomes the MAS wants to achieve through its collaborative fintech projects – instant remittance, atomic settlement, programmable money, tokenised assets, and trusted sustainability data.
  • (2 Nov 2022) The Ministry of Finance and the MAS have launched eGuarantee@Gov, a digital process for businesses and individuals to provide a banker's guarantee or insurance bond to government agencies within a day. | Press release

Europe

EU:  

The RTS and ITS will enter into force on 28 November 2022.

  • (3 Nov 2022) European Union Agency for Cybersecurity Threat Landscape 2022 report on the state of the cybersecurity threat landscape. The 10th edition covers a period of reporting starting from July 2021 up to July 2022.

Germany:    

  • (28 Oct 2022) Ministerial Ordinance on Requirements for Electronic Securities Registers (eWpRV), which has been published in the German Federal Law Gazette. The Act on Electronic Securities Registers (eWpG) sets out requirements for the maintenance of electronic securities registers, namely central registers and crypto securities registers. The eWpRV specifies these requirements in order to increase legal certainty for potential registrars. The eWpRV entered into force on 29 October 2022. | Talking Tech article

Italy:              

  • (31 Oct 2022) Speech by Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy, Piero Cipollone, on the implementation of CBDCs by central banks – challenges, risks and opportunities.

Netherlands:

  • (7 Nov 2022) Dutch Central Bank (DNB) occasional study on cryptoassets – evolution and policy response, which considers the opportunities and risks cryptoassets pose for society and how policymakers can ensure that societal risks will be mitigated while leaving room for innovation.

Russia:          

  • (7 Nov 2022) The Bank of Russia has launched a consultation on the evolution of the digital asset market in Russia. Deadline for comments: 7 December 2022 | Consultation report (in Russian) | Press release

Switzerland:

  • (2 Nov 2022) The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has partially revised the FINMA Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance, including to clarify the calculation of the threshold for transactions with virtual currencies and extend the Ordinance to cover distributed ledger trading facilities. | Press release

UK:

  • (7 Nov 2022) A Second Reading Committee in Grand Committee for the Electronic Trade Documents Bill has taken place. Formal second reading in the Lords chamber is yet to be scheduled. | Lords Hansard
  • (4 Nov 2022) House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee inquiry into the operation, risks, and benefits of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the wider blockchain. MPs are expected to consider whether NFT investors, especially vulnerable speculators, are put at risk by the market. The inquiry may also look into the wider benefits that NFTs and the blockchain could provide the UK economy. | Call for evidence deadline: 6 January 2023 | Press release
  • (14 Oct 2022) Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) guidance on AI and data protection, which is intended to help organisations mitigate the risks specifically arising from a data protection perspective, explaining how data protection principles apply to AI projects without losing sight of the benefits such projects can deliver. | Guide on how to use AI and personal data appropriately and lawfully

Middle East

Dubai:

  • (1 Nov 2022) The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)'s crypto token regime has come into force. The regime forms the second phase of the DFSA’s work in this area, following the introduction of a regime in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) for the regulation of investment tokens in October 2021. | Press release

EVENTS

Global Financial Markets Perspectives Series: The future of banking – can CBDCs and custody of digital assets change the financial markets? (online, 15 November 2022): In this session we will consider some use cases for Central Bank Digital Currencies and how they may impact the financial markets particularly when combined with digital assets. This session will provide practical insights for in-house lawyers on novel legal issues that arise from CBDCs and how the role of custodian of digital assets may be evolving. | To register, please see the event series registration form

Global Financial Markets Perspectives Series: Managing AI in an evolving legal landscape (online, 29 November 2022): Our experts will examine recent legal developments in a number of jurisdictions, consider key issues affecting the successful deployment and management of AI and machine learning, look ahead to expected changes to relevant regulatory regimes and discuss what businesses can do to prepare.| To register, please see the event series registration form

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