GRC Report Staff

The Basel Institute for Governance published a reflective piece examining whether businesses, particularly SMEs, would maintain strong governance and anti-corruption practices absent regulatory requirements. The article argues that governance, compliance, and culture are interdependent, and that proportionate, principles-based governance frameworks can strengthen organizational resilience and stakeholder trust even amid reduced regulatory pressure and ESG retrenchment.

The HKMA has issued updated guidance superseding its 2019 and 2021 circulars on remote customer on-boarding, requiring Authorized Institutions and Stored Value Facility licensees to strengthen identity authentication and identity matching controls in light of AI-driven impersonation, deepfake fraud, and mule-account risks. Firms must conduct a comprehensive review of their remote on-boarding systems and adopt a risk-based, tiered approach to customer due diligence, with ongoing recalibration to keep pace with evolving threats.

FINRA's September newsletter bundles several action items for compliance teams, including a job analysis survey to reshape the Series 7 exam, TRACE rule amendments improving trade reporting transparency, and three open comment periods on arbitrator rules, communications rules, and best execution guidance. Firms should track multiple mid-to-late September deadlines and prepare for TRF operating hour extensions and the 2027 renewal cycle.

The Norway Financial Supervisory Authority has published a warning notice titled "Life Financial Time," cross-referencing an advisory originally issued by Spain's securities regulator, CNMV. The limited content suggests this relates to an unauthorized or unregistered entity potentially targeting investors, though specific details on the firm's activities are not provided in the source material. Compliance teams should treat this as a preliminary alert requiring further investigation before drawing firm conclusions.

FinCEN has issued a renewed Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) imposing additional recordkeeping and reporting requirements on certain money services businesses (MSBs) operating along the Southwest border. This action requires affected MSBs to report cash transactions at lower thresholds than standard Bank Secrecy Act requirements, reflecting continued regulatory concern over cross-border illicit finance, including drug trafficking and smuggling proceeds. Compliance teams at impacted MSBs must promptly update transaction monitoring and reporting procedures to remain compliant with the order's specific geographic and dollar-threshold triggers.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority has issued a warning that fraudsters are using the name and credentials of FCA-authorized firm Fortrade Limited to operate a "clone firm" scam, targeting consumers through a fraudulent website (fortradelimited.com). This alert is being circulated by the Norway Financial Supervisory Authority, indicating cross-border regulatory awareness and distribution of the warning to protect consumers in multiple jurisdictions.

The SEC has approved FINRA's proposed amendment to Rule 4515.01, eliminating the principal approval requirement for all investment adviser bulk order allocations regardless of when allocation instructions are received. This change, effective immediately upon approval, reduces operational burdens for member firms while relying on T+1 settlement infrastructure, Rule 15c6-2 allocation requirements, and existing fiduciary and anti-fraud provisions to maintain investor protections.