Clifford Chance

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.

SPOTLIGHT: Watch on-demand: International Festival of Fintech

All of the videos from our recent International Festival of Fintech are available to watch on demand. International industry experts representing a variety of market-leading organisations joined members of the global Clifford Chance fintech team to offer their insights. They shared practical guidance on navigating rapidly-evolving legal, regulatory and market developments across the sector including the latest on AI, digital bonds, tokenisation and global crypto.

CLIFFORD CHANCE PUBLICATIONS

• (19 Apr 2024) Clifford Chance webinar – Navigating Cyber Security and Resilience in 2024

GLOBAL LEGAL AND REGULATORY UPDATES, INDUSTRY GUIDANCE AND PUBLICATIONS

Europe

EU:  

• (30 Apr 2024) European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) report on the digitalisation of the European insurance sector. | Press release
• (24 Apr 2024) The EU Parliament has formally adopted a series of legislative proposals that form the EU Commission's July 2021 anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing (AML/CTF) package. Amongst other things, the package expands the list of obliged entities to cover the majority of the crypto sector, and introduces specific enhanced due diligence measures for cross-border correspondent relationships for cryptoasset service providers. The texts now need to be formally adopted by the Council before they can be published in the Official Journal. | Press release

France:          

• (25 Apr 2024) Decree No. 2024-389 of 25 April 2024 (in French) on the conservation and transfer of cryptoassets by the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) on behalf of the Agence de gestion et de recouvrement des avoirs saisis et confisqués (AGRASC), the agency for the management and recovery of seized and confiscated assets. The decree modifies article R. 54-8 of the French Criminal Procedure Code in order to allow the CDC to provide a service enabling the AGRASC to hold cryptoassets in a secure manner. The decree entered into force on 28 April 2024.
• (25 Apr 2024) The Paris Europlace Working Group on digital finance use cases has published a document on the digitisation of the financial markets and how issuers and investors could take advantage of these innovations in their activities of issuing and investing in digital financial securities, i.e. shares, bonds (or fund units) issued, traded and settled/delivered in infrastructures using blockchain technology and another document on the opportunities of tokenisation for issuers and investors.

UK:

• (30 Apr 2024) Speech by Bank of England Executive Director Sasha Mills on building operational resilience of financial market infrastructures (FMIs), outlining some key expectations for FMIs ahead of the March 2025 deadline to meet the Bank of England’s policy in this area.
• (29 Apr 2024) Investment Association (IA) Engine whitepaper on a blueprint for fintech engagement and onboarding in investment management, which includes advice for both investment managers and fintech firms to work together successfully, including clear engagement strategies, partnership advice and industry analysis. | Press release
• (26 Apr 2024) New powers under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 for the National Crime Agency and police to seize, freeze and destroy cryptoassets have come into force. The Home Office has published Circular 004/2024 on cryptoasset confiscation order provisions and Circular 005/2024 on cryptoasset forfeiture provisions. | Press release

EVENTS

• Global Financial Markets Perspectives Series: AI Series: Regulation of artificial intelligence in the UK and EU insurance sectors (hybrid, 16 May 2024): Our panel will take a closer look at developments in the regulation of AI systems in the UK and EU that are directed specifically at the insurance sector. This includes comparing the EU AI Act with the latest information on the PRA and FCA’s approach to AI regulation that will affect the insurance sector value chain. We will consider how the insurance sector in the UK and EU could prepare for these new regulations, with a focus on the potential implications for governance arrangements and systems and controls. | To register, please see the event series registration form
• Global Financial Markets Perspectives Series: AI Series: Contracting for AI (online, 13 June 2024): What makes procuring AI different from procurement of other software or services? How does this affect your contract terms and supplier onboarding and management processes? When there is limited scope for negotiation, where should you focus your efforts? In this session we will discuss strategy and practical tips for contracting for AI. | To register, please see the event series registration form