The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its second risk monitoring report of 2024, sounding a clear alarm about the current state of EU financial markets. This comprehensive assessment underscores the critical need for heightened vigilance across all sectors of the financial industry.
According to a recent Reuters report, citing three people familiar with the matter, major US banks have been found to be in the early stages of assessing and managing climate change risks to their businesses. This information comes from a review conducted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which included 22 large banks.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has awarded more than $4 million to an insider whistleblower. The award recognizes the whistleblower’s crucial contributions to an investigation that exposed ongoing violations of CFTC rules, ultimately leading to enforcement action against the perpetrators.
Merrill Lynch and its parent company, Bank of America, have agreed to pay a $3 million fine and accept a censure from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for failing to properly monitor potentially manipulative trading activities by their customers. The settlement, announced on August 28, addresses violations that occurred from 2015 to present at Merrill Lynch and from 2019 to present at Bank of America Securities, the bank's institutional broker-dealer.
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has endorsed the Dutch Central Bank's (DNB) decision to extend a key macroprudential measure, underscoring persistent systemic risks in the Netherlands' residential real estate market and emphasizing the ongoing challenge of building financial sector resilience.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has ordered Nasdaq Futures, Inc. to pay a $22 million civil monetary penalty. The penalty stems from the company's failure to adhere to core regulatory principles, its lack of full disclosure regarding incentive programs, and for providing false and misleading information to the CFTC.
The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has reached a $35 million settlement with Nordea Bank Abp over serious compliance failures and inadequate due diligence practices. The settlement, announced on August 27, 2024, by DFS Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris, follows an extensive investigation into the bank's role in facilitating potentially illicit financial activities.