Countries

The plan undoes months of effort by industry associations to form an independent body to monitor and enforce compliance with a new code of ethics for financial advisors.

In a letter to the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, the FSB says the development of post-crisis reforms is “nearly complete”, but implementation progress remains uneven.

The first CCyB cut since 2015, the move is expected to free up between HKD 200-300 billion in the financial system and make it easier for banks to lend to SMEs.

The ACCC is commencing an inquiry to find out why banks are not fully passing on interest rate cuts to borrowers, and what prevents customers from switching to cheaper lenders.

BSP governor Benjamin Diokno has said the central bank wants to help convince lawmakers of the importance of lifting bank secrecy as part of a bill to grant amnesty to errant taxpayers.

Banks that present less risk, including foreign banks, will have reduced requirements. An idea to subject US branches of foreign banks to new liquidity requirements has also been dropped.

The former representatives from Great Eastern Life, Prudential and UOB abused the trust clients placed in them and enriched themselves at the expense of clients, MAS said.

The report notes that China is one of the countries that has outstanding issues with removing barriers to full trade reporting and access to trade repository data.

Under the current AML model, the ultimate focus for FIs is to protect the institution and the bottom line rather than reduce money laundering, says RUSI's Matthew Redhead.

China and Indonesia have demonstrated pioneering policy actions and regulatory initiatives, resulting in changing practices at financial institutions, the Sustainable Banking Network says.