Latest Reports
Hong Kong Bankers Explore Greatest Threats as Asian Tiger Rises Again
April 2023
With the world reeling from unexpected bank collapses in the US and Europe, a group of bankers met in Hong Kong in March to discuss risk management challenges, as well as the opportunities and outlook for the sector. This report summarises the findings from the roundtable discussion, which was jointly hosted by Regulation Asia and Wolters Kluwer.
Published by Regulation Asia and Wolters Kluwer
Download reportAML Tech Barometer 2023 – Financial Crime in a Borderless World: Perspectives from Asia
December 2022
In this paper, we explore how Asia Pacific financial institutions view their financial crime risk management capabilities as they prepare for 2023, leveraging survey and interview data collected from 289 practitioners across the region. This report also features interviews with the HKMA, AUSTRAC, Japan's FSA, and RUSI’s Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies.
Published by Regulation Asia and NICE Actimize
Download reportDirty Dealing: Advancing the Fight Against Fraud in Asia Pacific
August 2022
Banks are facing growing commercial and regulatory pressure to enhance their ability to prevent, detect, and defend against fraud losses. In this paper, subject matter experts from HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank and NICE Actimize discuss the current fraud risk landscape and ongoing industry and regulatory efforts to enhance fraud prevention, detection and recovery capabilities.
Published by Regulation Asia and NICE Actimize
Download reportThe China Story: Regulation, ESG and Investment
August 2022
The story of China over the past few years has been one of slowing growth and an increasingly tightening regulatory environment. The onset of Covid-19 was an obvious driver of the slowdown, but a string of unexpected regulatory moves from policymakers has also contributed to the more challenging business environment and impacted overall market optimism. For this three-part report, we surveyed awareness and optimism towards the changing regulatory environment, attitudes towards ESG amongst investors and bankers in China, and the outlook for M&A.
Published by Regulation Asia and S&P Global Market Intelligence
Download reportSpecial Report: ESG Data & Technology
July 2022
How is Asia adapting to a new paradigm around ESG disclosure reporting and the role new technologies and data can play in bridging the gaps. In many APAC jurisdictions including Hong Kong and Singapore, new taxonomies, working groups and requirements are being introduced to ensure market participants suitably account for and are aligned with various ESG related metrics. For this new special report, we talk to key market participants to understand the challenges institutions face across the region.
Published by Regulation Asia, with support from Bursa Malaysia and Moody's Analytics
Download reportAML Tech Barometer: Perspectives from Asia
January 2022
In research conducted by NICE Actimize and Regulation Asia, we analysed survey and interview data from 216 financial crime and fraud professionals across APAC to understand how FIs are leveraging technology to enhance financial crime risk management. This report presents the research findings, shedding light on the key priority areas at FIs, the challenges they face in technology adoption, and their outlook for the year ahead.
Published by Regulation Asia and NICE Actimize
Download reportChina ABS Market: A Magnet for Global Investors November
November 2021
China’s onshore asset-backed securities (ABS) market has been growing rapidly in recent years, bolstered by an influx of investment from domestic and foreign institutions alike. In this paper, we explore the regulatory developments that have led to such rapid growth, the opportunity for domestic and foreign institutional investors, and key drivers that are expected to propel the ABS market forward in the years to come, including the development of a green ABS market.
Published by Regulation Asia and Moody's Analytics
Read paperThe Future of Conduct Risk Monitoring at Asia-Pacific Financial Institutions
August 2021
In recent years, initiatives to foster sound culture and deter misconduct have remained in focus for regulators and financial institutions alike. Culture reform initiatives, however, require a multi-pronged approach. In this paper, we explore key initiatives underway to advance culture reform in the Asia-Pacific financial sector, highlighting efforts to measure and assess culture and conduct risk levels within an organisation, and track progress over time.
Published by Regulation Asia and NICE Actimize
Read paperPast Reports
Centralised Valuation Engine: An Uplift to Compliance & Decision Making
July 2021
The introduction of XVAs post-GFC have helped to facilitate better trading and risk management decisions by banks, change attitudes towards data management, and promote greater responsibility over the use of capital. But, the pandemic has highlighted a need for faster and more reliable approaches to valuing derivatives portfolios. In this paper, we discuss the benefits of adopting a central valuation engine ahead of the final Basel framework taking effect from 1 January 2023.
Published by Regulation Asia and Oracle Financial Services
Read paperThe Future of Fraud Management in Southeast Asia
July 2021
The global pandemic forced Southeast Asia's financial industry to adapt to a growing threat of fraud, for which the usual tools and processes were found to no longer be sufficient. At a recent roundtable discussion convened by GBG and Regulation Asia, industry experts gathered to delve into the Southeast Asian fraud landscape and provide practical insights into the mitigation measures the industry can take to meet these emerging challenges.
Published by Regulation Asia and GBG
Read reportFacing the Next Crisis with Greater Liquidity Certainty
June 2021
Asia Pacific’s banking sector managed well through the last year, despite economies in the region being ravaged by the pandemic. However, loose credit markets and growing regional economic growth have created conditions that could upend the economic recovery and expose banks to new risks. In this paper, we discuss how more granular deposit modelling and enhanced stress testing approaches can help to augment liquidity risk management practices in light of these risks.
Published by Regulation Asia and AxiomSL
Read paperThe Year of Credit Risk: Crisis Response and Recovery
May 2021
More than a decade from the 2008 crisis, regulators and risk managers are asking whether banks are better prepared for the emergent challenges seen in the pandemic. This report presents findings from research and interviews conducted by Regulation Asia and Bloomberg on how Asia Pacific banks are handling the current economic and market conditions, primarily from a credit risk perspective.
Published by Regulation Asia and Bloomberg
Read reportAddressing Sanctions Risk in Maritime Trade
May 2021
Global maritime shipping accounts for up to 90 percent of total international trade by volume and 70 percent by value. It is also the key artery for sanctions evasion globally, a result of deceptive shipping practices used by bad actors. This paper describes the need for banks that facilitate transactions involving maritime trade to put in place systems and processes to detect illicit activity that could result in sanctions breaches. .
Published by Regulation Asia and Dow Jones Risk & Compliance
Read paperLife Beyond Covid for Asia Pacific Life Insurers
May 2021
In light of challenges brought on by the Covid-19 crisis, there has been a heightened regulatory focus on the short-term actions and long-term resilience of life insurers. This report presents findings from research conducted by Regulation Asia and Bloomberg to explore perspectives on the current economic, market and credit conditions the insurance industry faces and whether continued stresses are likely to renew pressure on individual insurance firms in the year ahead.
Published by Regulation Asia and Bloomberg
Read reportRegulatory Reporting Lessons from Singapore and Australia
April 2021
MAS and APRA are among the regulators that have wholeheartedly endorsed the use of technology to improve the quality, accuracy and speed of regulatory reporting. In this paper, we discuss efforts in Singapore and Australia to automate reporting workflows through machine-readable rules, and how such a model can be replicated in other markets to gain efficiency, lower compliance costs, and facilitate more effective risk monitoring.
Published by Regulation Asia and Vizor Software
Read paperRegulatory Future Proofing with In-Memory Computing
April 2021
Regulatory requirements are increasingly coming with a heavier data ask, prompting a need for faster calculations, more advanced data analytics capabilities and processing performance. This paper discusses how in-memory analytics tools enable even the most complex of regulatory calculations such as those required under FRTB to be performed in near real-time.
Published by Regulation Asia and ActiveViam
Read paperRisk and Resilience: Industry and Technology Trends in Stress Testing
March 2021
The pandemic and the economic disruptions it created threw new light on the importance of risk and resilience. Regulators and banks have been developing new scenarios to assess the impacts of future stress events. In this paper, we discuss recent trends in stress testing and examine how data and technology can help banks to generate decision-useful insights and enhance risk management.
Published by Regulation Asia and Wolters Kluwer
Read paperAbsence of Term RFRs Could Impair Risk, Forecasting Functions
March 2021
The shift away from interbank offered rates (IBORs) towards risk-free rates (RFRs) is well underway. However, many banks have not yet dedicated adequate time to consider how the transition will affect their risk and forecasting functions. This paper discusses how these functions are impacted by the lack of forward-looking term rates for RFRs.
Published by Regulation Asia and Moody's Analytics
Read paperStress Testing Your Sanctions Screening Effectiveness
March 2021
Independent testing can serve as a functional, scientific and transparent approach to bolster the effectiveness and efficiency of sanctions screening systems. This paper describes why sanctions screening systems need to be regularly tested, the benefits testing can provide, and recommendations for how it should be performed.
Published by Regulation Asia and SWIFT
Read paperNew Realities: Addressing Financial Crime in a Post Covid-19 World
August 2020
The global pandemic has been an agent for accelerated change, forcing banks to revamp KYC and onboarding processes, tweak risk scoring thresholds, and recalibrate their systems to cope. This paper highlights three core areas that require focus to future-proof against financial crime risks: culture, technology, and data.
Published by Regulation Asia and NICE Actimize
Read paperBeyond FRTB: Risk Management and Enterprise Data Opportunities
July 2020
FRTB is a significant global industry challenge, but the process to achieve its outcomes can harness value from data that can be applied throughout a bank’s operations. In this paper, we identify eight data challenges that banks need to manage in their FRTB transition programmes, each one reinforcing the need for reliable and accurate data.
Published by Regulation Asia and NeoXam
Read paperOptimising the Libor Switch with Portfolio Compression
July 2020
Regulation Asia sat down with Guy Rowcliffe, Global Head of Optimization Services at CME Group, to understand how its TriOptima business is helping the sell-side and buy-side alike to reduce Libor risk, optimise capital, and enhance operational efficiency.
Published by Regulation Asia and CME Group
Read paperAddressing Heightened KYC Risk with Data and Automation
June 2020
Managing KYC risk assessment in a sea of increasingly complex data sets calls for smart automated solutions to manage alerts. In this paper, we discuss the use of entity level data to meet AML, KYC and sanctions compliance.
Published by Regulation Asia and Bureau van Dijk
Read paperNavigating Private Credit Markets Risks with Better Data
June 2020
Data has never been more essential to making informed decisions, particularly in private markets where internal data at financial institutions is typically thin. In this paper, we look at how a collaborative approach can help to address data gaps and improve risk management in private credit markets.
Published by Regulation Asia and Moody's Analytics
Read paperGlass Half Full: Basel IV Presents Opportunity for Constructive Change, COVID-19 the Impetus
May 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic is an additional catalyst for financial institutions to generate fundamental structural change as they seek to implement Basel reforms. In this paper, AxiomSL's Mahim Mehra discusses model architecture and explains the importance of full data lineage for Basel IV compliance.
Published by Regulation Asia and AxiomSL
Read paperDigital Banking and the Shifting Competitive Landscape: Lessons from Hong Kong
November 2019
In November 2019, Regulation Asia and Wolters Kluwer jointly held a private roundtable to provide practical insights to firms that were considering – or planning to apply for – a digital bank licence in Singapore, drawing from the Hong Kong experience. This paper presents the key findings from the closed-door discussion.
Published by Regulation Asia and Wolters Kluwer
Read paperTransitioning Away from IBORs: The View from Asia
October 2019
Asian banks have a large and complex operational task ahead of them as they prepare for a post-LIBOR world after 2021. In this paper, KPMG’s Marie Gervacio and Luke Gower discuss the progress seen so far in key Asia Pacific juridictions, and the challenges still ahead for regulators and market participants.
Published by Regulation Asia and KPMG
Read paperBeyond Data Governance: Developing a Data Culture in Asia’s FIs
October 2019
To create a truly competitive advantage and achieve their commercial goals, Asia’s financial institutions need to integrate strong data culture into their data governance approaches. This entails taking a more holistic approach to data, and building data behaviours that are “authentic” to the firm’s strategy and ways of working.
Published by Regulation Asia and PwC
Read paperFrom Data Governance to Data Culture: BCBS 239 and Beyond
October 2019
While there is now increasing recognition of the important of data governance, most firms continue to be focused on technical policies rather than on developing a data-focused culture that goes beyond regulatory compliance. Yet, organisations with distinctive and aligned cultures are more likely to report superior execution, better results and higher growth rates.
Published by Regulation Asia and PwC
Read paperA New Age for Client Lifecycle Management in APAC
May 2019
The onboarding process is merely the start of a clearly defined, long-term relationship with customers, but it needs to be fast and efficient, and this can only be achieved through automation. Today's banks and financial institutions have to make the most of automation if they want to provide a customer experience that wins trust, loyalty and satisfaction.
Published by Regulation Asia and Appway
Read paper (free registration)Data Quality and Integrity Concerns for Asian Banks
April 2019
Managing large sets of regulatory data has become an important part of conducting business in the financial industry, and the increased use of technology for data analysis and collection has meant that regulators are demanding more and more granular data to enhance supervisory, risk assessment, and stress testing efforts.
Published by Regulation Asia and Moody's Analytics
Read paperIntelligent Automation for Effective AML
April 2019
As financial crime continues to flourish and reach new levels of sophistication, financial institutions have increasingly recognised that new technologies are providing much-needed solutions to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of AML programmes. In this paper, we look at some of the core themes firms need to pay attention to in the year ahead.
Published by Regulation Asia and NICE Actimize
Read paper (free registration)An Appetite for Tax Reporting
April 2019
Regulators have taken an aggressive approach to tax reporting, particularly relating to non-resident income. Financial institutions are on the front line of reporting on their account holders and their assets. This paper shows how tax reporting automation makes compliance quicker and more efficient.
Published by Regulation Asia and BearingPoint
Read paperThe Rise of Open Banking in Asia
March 2019
This paper explores how Asia has taken the lead as the world transforms towards a truly cashless society. It looks at the regulatory landscape for open banking and how firms can more efficiently transition from legacy platforms into the digital marketplace for financial services.
Published by Regulation Asia and SmartStream
Read paper (free registration)The Rise of Client Tax Reporting in Asia
June 2018
This paper explores regulatory and government-led initiatives causing financial institutions to share taxpayer data at a rate never seen before. It also look at how private banks and wealth managers can build competitive advantage by supporting clients' cross jurisdictional tax reporting needs.
Published by Regulation Asia and BearingPoint
Read paper | Webinar details | Watch webinarCRS in APAC – Are Organisations Ready?
July 2017
This report uses survey research to gauge the readiness of the financial industry to implement CRS. The results highlighted that regulators struggled with establising legal basis for information exchange, while financial institutions were challenged with IT infrastructure decisions that would enable the collection, validation and monitoring of client information for ongoing compliance and reporting.
Published by Regulation Asia and IHS Markit
Read reportIFRS9 Regional Insights: 2017 Asia Pacific Market Survey
June 2017
This report presents the findings from a survey of 189 respondents in 13 countries, and in-depth discussions with some of the respondents, to gauge their readiness for IFRS 9 implementation by the January 2018 deadline, exploring implementation challenges, objectives, operational practices and costs.
Published by Regulation Asia and S&P Global Market Intelligence
Read report | Read articleThe Model Question: Internal or Standardised?
April 2017
Regulation Asia sat down with FTI Consulting Managing Director Bruno Campana to explore whether financial institutions should pursue approval for internal models or adopt the standardised approach proposed by regulators, as well as the implications of the decision.
Published by Regulation Asia and FTI Consulting
Read articleNavigating the impacts of the internationalisation of China’s Economy
January 2017
This paper explores how truly open China’s economy has become, highlighting the critical role adequate and comprehensive due diligence plays in protecting financial institutions against compliance missteps and helping them maintain profitable operations.
Published by Regulation Asia and LexisNexis Risk Solutions
Read paperBuilding Australia’s RMB Hub
October 2016
RMB Week, a sister publiction of Regulation Asia, sat down with Helen Lofthouse, Executive General Manager for Derivatives and OTC Markets at ASX, to discuss the importance of the recently launched RMB securities depository service, and how it fits in with ASX's overall growth and expansion plans in the Asia-Pacific region.
Published by RMB Week and ASX
Read articleFATCA & CRS BEYOND REPORTING: DATA OVERLOAD
September 2016
This report explored the new oblications under CRS and the challenges they presented to financial institutions in terms the scale and amount of data that needed collecting and reporting. It also explores possible solutions to the challenges, with a spotlight on India, one of the first countries to adopt CRS.
Published by Regulation Asia and AxiomSL
Read articleIndia: Regulatory Expectations impacting Banking and Capital Markets
March 2016
This paper outlines key initiatives in India to liberalise banking and capital markets, and promote domestic economic stability, paying particular attention to the challenges and opportunities the financil industry foresees in the Basel III and high frequency trading domains.
Published by Regulation Asia and Deloitte
Read paperRegulatory Forces Driving the Behaviour of Financial Firms in Asia: Beyond Margin Reform
February 2016
This paper discusses the challenges of new collateral and risk management standards for OTC derivatives as a result of the adoption of central clearing practices, and how participants are readying their systems to support the new requirements.
Published by Regulation Asia and SmartStream
Read articleCross-Jurisdictional Regulatory Compliance & Entity Data Management
December 2015
This article summarises the findings of a private roundtable in Singapore where compliance executives discuss the challenges of multi-jurisdictional compliance and the client onboarding requirement, as well as future solutions in data management, KYC and share services.
Published by Regulation Asia and Fenergo
Read paperEmerging Attitudes: The Relationship and Regulatory Drivers within Wealth Management
October 2015
This article summarises the findings of a private roundtable in Singapore where private bankers discuss the impact and challenges of the regulatory environment to the private banking business and their clients, and howthey are adapting to cope.
Published by Regulation Asia and M&G Investments
Read articleEvolving AML and KYC Standards: Now an Integral Part of Financial Institutions
July 2015
This paper explore how increasingly complex and co-dependent regulations and tax policies following the global financial crisis are changing the process of on-boarding and monitoring clients and counterparties, placing a significant burden on financial insitutions.
Published by Regulation Asia and LexisNexis Risk Solutions
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Please contact Nick Wakefield on [email protected] for more information about our research or if you'd like to collaborate with Regulation Asia on similar research.