News

Asset Acceptance Unit to Pay $2.5 Million in FTC Settlement :Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. agreed to pay a civil penalty of $2.5 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges it deceived consumers while trying to collect old debts. The company’s Asset Acceptance LLC unit agreed to tell consumers whose debts may be too old to be legally enforceable that it won’t sue to collect on that debt, the FTC said in an e-mailed statement. Under the proposed settlement order, Asset Acceptance must also investigate disputed debts and ensure it has a reasonable basis for claiming that the consumer owes the money before continuing collection efforts, the agency said.  Read more...

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Germany Wants Greece to Hand Over Control of Budget :Greece should hand over control of its tax and spending policies to an EU commissioner in return for its next bailout program, according to a German government proposal. “Given the disappointing compliance so far, Greece has to accept shifting budgetary sovereignty to the European level for a certain period of time,” states the report. “A budget commissioner has to be appointed by the Eurogroup with the task of ensuring budgetary control.” This commission should have the power to “veto decisions not in line with the budgetary targets set by the Troika,” it says. Several German politicians have publicly supported the proposal. “We need more leadership and monitoring in implementing the course of reform,” said German Economy Minister and Vice Chancellor Philipp Rösler in an interview. Read more...

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U.S. Banks Tally Their Exposure to Europe’s Debt Maelstrom :After a hurricane, homeowners check nervously to see if their insurance will cover all of the damage. With the European financial crisis still threatening a trail of defaults, United States banks are betting that their insurance is going to pay out. Five large American banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, have more than $80 billion of exposure to Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Greece, the most economically stressed nations in the euro currency zone, according to a New York Times analysis of the banks’ financial disclosures. But these banks have made extensive use of a type of financial insurance, the credit-default swap, to help them offset any losses that might occur if defaults swamped the five troubled nations. Read more...

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FSA fines former Greenlight compliance officer, JP Morgan trading director :The UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Greenlight Capital’s (UK) former compliance officer and trader Alexander Ten-Holter £130,000 for failing to question sale of Greenlight’s shareholding in Punch Taverns prior to equity fundraising in June 2009. Holter failed to make reasonable enquiries despite being aware of the conversation between Greenlight and Punch management ahead of the sale. According to FSA, Ten-Holter took no steps to confirm that the order was not based on inside information and simply executed instructing Caspar Agnew, a trading desk director at JP Morgan Cazenove, to sell on behalf of Greenlight. Caspar Agnew has also been fined £65,000 for failing to identify a suspicious order from Greenlight to sell Punch shares thereby facilitating insider dealing or market abuse. Read more...

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RegWatch

SEC supervision case closed, but questions linger :While compliance professionals cheer the end of a case that threatened to redefine their roles, future regulatory actions remain a source of anxiety. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday dismissed a controversial enforcement case against Theodore Urban, once general counsel of the former Ferris Baker Watts LLC, a Washington-based brokerage and investment bank, now part of RBC Wealth Management. Urban, who made suggestions to his firm about dealing with a rogue broker - including firing him - was then accused in an SEC civil action of failing to supervise that broker. But the abrupt dismissal, which occurred after three commissioners recused themselves and two others could not agree, leaves a key legal question unanswered: should compliance professionals and legal staff that make recommendations about employee conduct be deemed "supervisors"? Read more...

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F.B.I. Looks Into Adviser on Chinese Reverse Mergers :The Federal Bureau of Investigation searched the offices of a New York-based corporate advisory firm that specializes in helping Chinese companies sell shares in the United States. The firm, the New York Global Group, is known for helping take midsize Chinese companies public in the United States through reverse mergers, or by buying the shell of defunct American companies that had been publicly listed — a controversial practice that has come under regulatory scrutiny in recent months. The F.B.I. search is the strongest indication yet that federal investigators may be going after the advisers and promoters who helped create a thriving business in so-called backdoor listings of Chinese companies. Read more...

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Unrest with Basel III grows as regulation weighs on banks :Excessive regulations are saddling banks with extra costs and forcing them to change their products and business models while they are struggling to cut costs. Research to be released today by the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation and PwC paints a grim picture of banking worldwide describing the system as sad, gloomy and "in peril" but also surprisingly reveals that Australian banks are more anxious than their overseas counterparts about the future. "To some extent this no doubt reflects the increasing gloom that bankers, no matter which country they work in, regard the immediate future," the report says. "On a deeper level, it reflects uncertainties in the economic environment and the long journey the Australian banks still have to navigate through ongoing regulatory reforms that are still taking shape." Read more...

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EU watchdog proposes rules to improve ETF transparency :Exchange traded funds must disclose whether they lend out securities and give greater detail on the collateral they hold, the European Union's market watchdog (ESMA) proposed. ESMA released new draft rules aimed at addressing concerns about the complexity and counterparty risks involved although it delayed a decision about proposals on the sale of ETFs to retail investors that would divide products based on their complexity. Read more...

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Upcoming Conferences

April 3, 2012
Risk Oversight in the Boardroom
Hosted by Board Member
New York, NY

This one-day event will explore the challenges and solutions for boards to attract and retain management while meeting regulators' mandates and shareholders' expectations. Participants will interact with fellow executives and directors and leading experts and will obtain effective approaches to identify and develop compensation plans for their executives as well as their boards.  Details

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February 15-16, 2012
The New Realities of Tax Risk Management: Navigating Risk in a Complex World
Hosted by TCPI
Washington, DC

The 13th annual Tax Policy and Practice Symposium will present informed and varied viewpoints on the critical tax issues confronting businesses today. Perspectives will be shared on seizing opportunities while effectively navigating risks by exploring areas such as fundamental tax reform, reputational tax risk, the potential of a territorial tax system, tax compliance and controversy, and how the government's perception of tax risk may drive guidance and enforcement, as well as many other relevant topics. Details

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Febuary 15, 2012
Risk & Compliance 6th Annual Summit 2012
Hosted by  IBA-SP Media
Mumbai

This annual conference, now in its sixth year, will focus on the top priorities and key issues faced by risk management and compliance departments of banks in India. Organized jointly by SP Media, publisher of India Banking Review, and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), this is the country’s flagship conference for policy level debate on issues related to risk management and regulatory compliance in banking. The conference will feature speakers from banks and consulting firms, both from India and internationally, and will provide actionable insight to delegates. Details

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