Tag: fintech

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Regulatory Ramblings

Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 50 – Hong Kong to Dubai and Back Again Reflections on A Career in FinTech Ep with Syed Musheer Ahmed

Syed Musheer Ahmed has extensive experience in capital markets, fintech, and virtual assets, including a decade as a global markets trader before coming to Hong Kong to attain his MBA from the University of Hong Kong and London Business School’s joint program.

Since 2016, Musheer has contributed extensively to building the region’s fintech and virtual asset ecosystem, particularly as the co-founder and the inaugural general manager of the Fintech Association of Hong Kong.

For the last five years, he has been the managing director of FinStep Asia – a firm he founded to provide venture-building and empower cross-border bridges across Asia. In the interim, from October 2022 to January 2024, he served as a financial markets risk assurance lead as part of the foundational team of the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in Dubai.

In this episode of Regulatory Ramblings, Musheer chats with host Ajay Shamdasani about his background, growing up in India’s information technology hub, Bangalore, his initial training as an engineer, and his stint as a regulator in the Mideast’s Manhattan.

As the discussion progresses, Musheer reaffirms his faith in Hong Kong as a place for FinTech and crypto entrepreneurs, discussing what it is about the city and the field that continues to attract and amaze him.

He also stresses that in the evolution of FinTech, the field has long since passed the nascent stage and is no longer all that new and glamorous since the advent of the iPhone in 2007 and Satoshi Nakamoto’s paper on Blockchain first released in 2009. Yet, he acknowledges that technological innovation continues, as he shares his thoughts on the regulatory approaches taken across Asia by mainland China, India, Singapore, and Hong Kong – and the similarities and differences between some of the major jurisdictions.

While virtual assets have evolved in some parts of the world, in others, they are still somewhat of a grey zone. Musheer also comments on the prospects for cross-border crypto regulation in the Asia-Pacific or even internationally evolving to harmonized rules, mutual recognition, or common passporting—as was discussed a decade ago for the investment funds sector.

He also shares his views on choosing between stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which are not binary. Musheer emphasizes that it is not an either-or choice because both fulfill different purposes.

The conversation concludes with his assessment of the potential for Hong Kong and mainland China to collaborate with the Middle East’s FinTech and virtual asset hubs, such as Dubai.

Connect with RR Podcast at:

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/HKUFinTech 
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hkufintech
Website: https://www.hkufintech.com/regulatoryramblings 

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Regulatory Ramblings

Regulatory Ramblings: Episode 47 – The Biggest Bank Heist in History Is Coming with Linda Jeng

Linda Jeng is a digital economy leader and strategist with over two decades of experience in FinTech, policy, and regulation. She is the founder & CEO of Digital Self Labs, a Washington D.C.-based Web3 advisory firm. Digital Self Labs is a cross-disciplinary advisory firm combining blockchain software expertise with policy and regulatory strategy.

Linda helps clients design and implement innovative solutions that empower individuals and enable interoperability, transparency, and efficiency in the financial and digital sectors. 

She is also a renowned scholar and educator, with affiliations at Georgetown University Law Center, Duke University Law School, and the Bank for International Settlements. She conducts cutting-edge research and teaches courses on open banking, digital identity, and decentralized finance (DeFi). and has authored several publications and contributed to influential books on these topics. She is a frequent media speaker, commentator, and a Forbes contributor. Linda holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School and a master’s in EU and International Law from Université Toulouse Capitole. She speaks Mandarin Chinese, French, and essential German. 

In this episode of Regulatory Ramblings, she talks to host Ajay Shamdasani about an op-ed piece she wrote, which Coindesk published entitled “The Biggest Bank Heist in History Is Coming.” 

The discussion’s premise and focus are that regulators permit banks to tokenize financial assets such as bank deposits, U.S. Treasuries, and corporate debt. Yet, they want institutions to use permissioned networks rather than the decentralized blockchains that keep assets safe from hackers. 

As Linda stated in her article: “In February, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s acting head, Michael Hsu, announced plans for new rules on operational resilience for large banks with critical operations, including third-party service providers. Critically, what wasn’t discussed was that the rules would “treat the use of permissioned networks by the big banks to tokenize real-world assets and liabilities, an omission that neglects critical new vulnerabilities for the global financial system.” 

A key theme of the conversation is that encouraging permissioned networks over permissionless blockchains will inevitably lead to cybersecurity attacks “on a scale previously unknown as the financial system moves to tokenize trillions of dollars worth of real-world assets and liabilities. The biggest bank heist in history is in the making.” 

“By contrast, most successful crypto hacks usually involve centralized protocols where hackers only need to hack the admin keys of one or a few actors to gain control and steal digital assets. Similarly, permissioned networks are controlled by only a few parties so that they can be more easily hacked than blockchains maintained by thousands of validators. The concentration of attack vectors in the big banks that control these permissioned networks (or the central banks that control non-blockchain ledgers) is like sticking targets on their backs,” she said. 

Linda discusses how she ended up in the legal profession, what drew her to digital assets as a scholar, and how she believes the worst attacks against banks are yet to come. 

Podcast Discussion

3:51 The journey of the family rebel to empower self and community 

12:34 Taking on the challenge of understanding the causes of the 2008 financial crisis 

17:23 The Dodd-Frank Act is still relevant today 

21:36 The role of Big Tech in the financial system is a significant issue 

22:43 Fractional reserve banking: CBDCs and Stablecoins, design is key 

24:37 The nature of money is changing—exciting times in FinTech 

27:22 Tokenized real-world assets must be in the most resilient system possible 

31:21 The security advantage of permissionless systems over permission systems 

33:27 Seeing the parallels between tech and law: working in a cross-disciplinary way 

37:28 Lawyers should have a seat at the product design table 

38:42 The biggest regulatory challenge: a lack of understanding about the benefits of decentralization 

40:40 Self-empowerment: Why web3 matters 

42:09 The future web should restore personal control to identity and assets 

45:01 Taking back our rights from Big Techs 

48:42 It is an Exciting time to be studying law as technology fundamentally changes most things 

50:41 AI, Google Search, and new tools: The need to change how we research and write 

Connect with RR Podcast at:

LinkedIn: https://hk.linkedin.com/company/hkufintech 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hkufintech.fb/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hkufintech/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HKUFinTech 
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hkufintech
Website: https://www.hkufintech.com/regulatoryramblings 

Connect with the Compliance Podcast Network at:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/compliance-podcast-network/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/compliancepodcastnetwork/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CompliancePodcastNetwork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tfoxlaw
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voiceofcompliance/
Website: https://compliancepodcastnetwork.net/

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Data Driven Compliance

Data Driven Compliance: Sheetal Parikh on Banking Integration: Connecting Banks and Fintech Companies

Are you struggling to keep up with the ever-changing compliance programs in your business? Look no further than the award-winning Data Driven Compliance podcast hosted by Tom Fox. It features an in-depth conversation about the uses of data and data analytics in compliance programs. Data Driven Compliance is back with another exciting episode. The intersection of law, compliance, and data is becoming increasingly important in the world of cross-border transactions and mergers and acquisitions. Today, we look at the intersection of data analytics, banking, and compliance with Sheetal Parikh.

Sheetal Parikh is a seasoned attorney with over 18 years of experience in the financial services industry, currently serving as the Associate General Counsel and VP of Compliance at Treasury Prime. Drawing from her extensive background in securities and commodities litigation and regulatory work, Parikh advocates for a collaborative approach to integrating Fintech and banks, with a strong emphasis on compliance. She believes that Treasury Prime’s role is not to offload compliance functions but to provide banks and Fintech with a toolkit and set of tools, both through technology and expertise, to establish a compliance program that suits their specific risk profile and use case. Parikh also foresees a future where fintech companies offering banking products and services will face more direct oversight and regulation, as they are currently regulated indirectly through banks. Join Tom Fox and Sheetal Parikh on this episode of the Data Driven Compliance podcast to delve deeper into this topic.

Highlights Include:

  • Banking Integration and Compliance Solutions
  • Responsible Innovation in the Banking Industry
  •  Consequences of Regulatory Non-Compliance
  • Regulating Fintech Companies as Banks

 Resources:

Sheetal Parikh on LinkedIn

Treasury Prime

 Tom Fox 

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Compliance and AI

Compliance and AI – Vinay Kumar on the Business Uses for AI in Regulated Industries

In this episode, Tom Fox interviews Vinay Kumar, the founder, and CEO of Arya.ai. Vinay discusses the importance of regulations in AI to prevent unethical use in business, including the potential dangers of superintelligence. Vinay emphasizes the need for responsible and ethical use of AI while discussing how Arya.ai simplifies the deployment of responsible and safe AI in the banking, finance, and insurance industries. Vinay also explains how a verticalized AI cloud with observability layers can provide value to the industry by ensuring transparency, auditability, monitoring, and safety of model output to protect customer and company interests.

Don’t miss this informative podcast that will enlighten you on the proper use of AI in business and the importance of regulations.

Key Highlights:

  • ML observability and founding Arya.ai
  • From Stem Research to BFSI: Pivoting AI Development
  • AI solutions for the insurance industry
  • Importance of ML observability layer
  • Challenges of Health Claims Automation
  • Ethical Concerns in AI Usage for Business

 Key Quote:

“We thought we were solving a fundamental problem, which is simplifying the information interaction problem, and that can only happen when I spend my time more effectively on the topic rather than solving these on-ground tasks.”

Resources

Vinay Kumar on LinkedIn

Arya.ai

Tom Fox

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

Twitter

Categories
Daily Compliance News

January 21, 2022 the Boeing Reopening? Edition


In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • The Mucci bitcoin ETF plan rejected by SEC. (Bloomberg)
  • AG to meet with families of Boeing disasters. (WSJ)
  • Dealmaking improv? (Reuters)
  • AML to get FinTech boost? (FinExtra)
Categories
Coffee and Regs

Trends in Transaction Reporting in 2022

Trends in Transaction Reporting in 2022

In this episode, CSS’s Transaction Reporting product team of Alexis Wiazmitinoff and Nicklas Nilsson make predictions on trends in transaction reporting in 2022 – from updates to SFTR to preparation for EMIR REFIT.
 

 

About Our Guest Speakers:


Alexis Wiazmitinoff is a Product Leader at CSS, responsible for leading the Global Transaction Reporting (GTR) solution. He is responsible for setting the GTR product roadmap and strategy. He guides the GTR product team during Sales/Pre-Sales engagements, product design/ delivery, thought leadership and takes part in client events. Alexis has 10 years of FinTech experience and a strong background working with traders, portfolio managers and front-to-back office personnel as part of core banking transformation projects on the continent and in the UK. Prior to joining CSS, Alexis product managed London Stock Exchange Group’s EMIR Trade Repository.”
 

 

 

 
Nicklas Nilsson is a Regulatory Specialist at CSS concentrating on global transaction reporting, including SFTR, MiFIR and EMIR. Nicklas is currently in a cross-functional role covering the regulations from analysis to implementation. He has eight years of experience working in the finance industry, including operational experience in fund reporting and regulatory implementation. Prior to joining CSS, Nicklas held positions at Swedbank, SEB and Wahlstedt Sageryd.

 

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Coffee and Regs

The Perfect Storm – PRIIPs and SFDR in 2022

The Perfect Storm – PRIIPs and SFDR in 2022

In this episode, CSS’s Chief Product Officer Ronan Brennan makes predictions for PRIIPs and how the regulatory landscape in 2022 with PRIIPs and SFDR is reminiscent of 2018 with the implementation of PRIIPs and MiFID II.
 

 

About Our Guest Speakers:


Ronan Brennan is the Chief Product Officer at Compliance Solutions Strategies (CSS). In his role, he has direct responsibility for the strategic evolution of the global suite of CSS products and regulatory content. Managing product in CSS involves ensuring the product suite is ready to support both the current and future compliance management and regulatory reporting needs of investment management and advisory firms globally. Ronan participates as a speaker in many industry events each year, in addition to publishing a company blog and development of thought leadership materials. Ronan has 26 years of experience in the technology sector, 21 of which have been spent in the investment data management and regulatory reporting space.
 

 
Natalie Silverman serves as CSS’s Chief Marketing Officer. A leading FinTech specialist, Natalie has over 18 years of go-to-market and strategic expertise in financial services, SaaS, media and news. Most recently she has helped to build innovation labs across startups and enterprises.

 

Categories
Coffee and Regs

What’s Next for Cybersecurity in 2022?

Digital Assets: Trading & Compliance for Cryptocurrency

In this episode, Director of Registered Investment Company Services, Allison Fraser and Director of Broker-Dealer Services & Private Funds, John Gentile discuss the latest on digital assets and cryptocurrency. Are they considered securities, what does the SEC’s risk alert mean for digital assets, and how should investment managers be thinking about cryptocurrency trading and compliance?

 

 

About Our Guest Speakers:


 
E.J. Yerzak CISA®, CISM®, CRISC™ assists firms in assessing and managing their cybersecurity risk – from network vulnerability scanning and penetration testing to onsite cybersecurity assessments and assistance in implementing the NIST cybersecurity framework. E.J. has authored articles and alerts on emerging regulatory and technology issues, and is regularly requested to speak as a cybersecurity expert at industry conferences.
 
 

 
Mike Farrell is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA®) and Certified Information Security Manager (CISM®), and Cybersecurity Consultant at CSS. He analyzes data and conducts cybersecurity risk assessments, policy gap analyses, vulnerability scanning and social engineering testing. His Information technology experience includes network installations and management, hardware and software configuration, and troubleshooting.
Categories
Coffee and Regs

Special Episode with the Deputy Commissioner, Securities Division of the Vermont Dept. of Financial Regulation

Special Episode with the Deputy Commissioner, Securities Division of the Vermont Dept. of Financial Regulation

In this special episode, CSS’s Director of Retail Wealth Manager Services Korrine Kohm and William R. Carrigan, Deputy Commissioner, Securities Division of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation discuss the latest news for registered investment advisers, including what will be required in 2022 surrounding continuing education requirements, the implementation of the new Marketing Rule and what’s next for Form CRS.
 

 

About Our Guest Speakers:

Korrine Kohm is CSS’s Director of Retail Wealth Manager Services. Prior to CSS, Korrine was the Chief Compliance Officer and Head of Operations at Estabrook Capital Management where she was responsible for all compliance functions of this SEC-registered, $2.1B investment advisory firm. Korrine began her regulatory career while working at Allied Irish Bank (NY) in the Operations Department where she was a key member of AIB’s Compliance Committee, responsible for ensuring compliance with Federal and State regulations. An active member of the National Society of Compliance Professionals for over 10 years, Korrine earned her Investment Adviser Certified Compliance Professional (IACCPTM) designation in 2006, is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and obtained her Certified Fraud Examiner designation. In addition to her experience in compliance and banking, Korrine began the 16-week intensive training course in Quantico, Virginia, to become a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She has particular experience in crafting customized policies and procedures, developing and implementing compliance programs, conducting on-site compliance reviews, acquisition due diligence reviews, risk assessments and mock SEC examinations. She routinely councils clients on various regulatory matters, including SEC registration issues, social media and advertising, policies related to diminished financial capacity, disclosures and the annual review process.
 

William R. Carrigan was appointed Deputy Commissioner of the Securities Division in July 2016. He has worked at DFR since 2007 serving as Director of Examinations and Enforcement and Investor Education Coordinator. A Certified Fraud Examiner, he worked closely with the FBI and IRS to expose the $28 million Mac Parker Ponzi scheme, which involved hundreds of investors, and he was a member of the team that investigated the recent Jay Peak EB-5 matter that resulted in federal and civil lawsuits. Carrigan also spearheaded the inquiry that led to the recent $5.9 million settlement with Raymond James and Associates. He has 20 years of experience in the securities industry and held various positions prior to joining the division. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Johnson State College and a master’s degree in forensic studies from Stevenson University in Maryland. He is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and the North American Securities Administrators Association.
 
Categories
Coffee and Regs

PRIIPs Delay, But Not Implementation Delays

PRIIPs Delay, But Not Implementation Delays

In this episode, CSS’s SVP of Business Development Ashley Smith joins Chief Product Officer Ronan Brennan to discuss the latest on the PRIIPs RTS, UK/EU divergence, data management complexities of the UCITS to PRIIPs transition and operational best practices to implement now.

 

About Our Guest Speakers:


Ronan Brennan is the Chief Product Officer at Compliance Solutions Strategies (CSS). In his role, he has direct responsibility for the strategic evolution of the global suite of CSS products and regulatory content. Managing product in CSS involves ensuring the product suite is ready to support both the current and future compliance management and regulatory reporting needs of investment management and advisory firms globally. Ronan participates as a speaker in many industry events each year, in addition to publishing a company blog and development of thought leadership materials. Ronan has 26 years of experience in the technology sector, 21 of which have been spent in the investment data management and regulatory reporting space.

 
 

 
Ashley Smith is a sales and business development professional with 30 years of experience in the financial services sector. Ashley started his career with the Financial Times and has led sales, marketing and business development teams across leading solution providers in data management, market data, risk analytics, collateral management and regulatory compliance.