The American Fintech Council Policy Summit in Washington DC brought together fintech, banking and government leaders for a full day of learning and networking.
Anew approach to the FCA and how they interact with fintech, focusing on fostering innovation, being intelligence-led, and preparing for the future.
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With 2.6 million people and the highest remittances in Africa, Nigeria is currently the 7th most populous country in the world.
A new report by NextGen Crowdfunding documents increasing use of Reg. A+ as the regulatory umbrella for real estate crowdfunding and other financial offerings; Reg. A+ was finalized in June 2015 as a means for non-accredited investors to access private offerings; companies can raise up to $50 million per year under Reg. A+; across all sectors, 131 companies to date have filed under Reg. A+, with 38% of these filings being by real estate and financial services platforms and many others being IT startups; roughly half of the filers are using "Tier 1" rules for Reg. A+, meaning they will continue to register in individual states as well as at the federal level, and half are filing "Tier 2", seeking national fundraising scope while avoiding the added prudence of vetting against state rules. Source
A report from the Beijing Bureau of Financial Work says 90% of P2P platforms will struggle to stay in business in 2017; if their predictions are correct that would reduce the total number of P2P companies from 4,856 to approximately 500; companies will begin to undergo a review by regulators and it is expected that a run on deposits is likely to occur; regulators will be checking for a number of variables including two new requirements: the appointment of a custodian bank and full disclosure of the use of deposits; other factors under review will include risk management, business scale, IT infrastructure, investment sources and shareholders' credibility; firms will either be granted a P2P lending license or be required to liquidate; in 2016 the industry accounted for 800 billion yuan and according to the Beijing Bureau of Financial Work it is likely that 2017 will end drastically different for the industry overall. Source
The central bank of Indonesia has opened a fintech office; the central bank will use the fintech office to maintain its regulatory oversight while also providing support for new fintech startups; it plans to collect information on the industry for regulatory development; it will also facilitate the development of fintech companies and their introduction to the economy both in Indonesia and globally. Source
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a financial government agency overseen by the Financial Stability Oversight Council, held a fintech forum discussing the industry; industry speakers included Ram Ahluwalia from PeerIQ and Matt Burton from Orchard; SEC speakers included Mary Jo White and Michael Piwowar; Mary Jo White focused on fintech responsibility suggesting thorough testing of various aspects of the business before introduction; Michael Piwowar focused on fintech sandbox testing and suggested that the SEC should be the lead agency regulating fintech; in an announcement on Monday, Mary Jo White also said she would be leaving her role in January. Source
While Gensler deepens confusion on The Hill, the EU passes the first comprehensive crypto law spanning all member states.
In the light of the enforcement action against Farmington State Bank, Michele Alt of Klaros Group, gives four lessons for anyone considering acquiring a bank.
The use of messaging apps raises compliance issues that SnipperSentry addresses. This issue is not going away for fintechs and banks.