Financial Regulatory Forum

By Margaret Paradis, Thomson Reuters Accelus Contributor

NEW YORK, March 15 (Thomson Reuters Accelus) - The pace of social media usage by the U.S. financial industry has begun to rapidly accelerate. One drag on broader and deeper usage, especially by banks, continues to be uncertainty about regulatory compliance standards. Not all segments of the industry have been moving at the same pace. The broker-dealers and insurance companies have forged ahead in this area, relying on issued regulatory guidance. Additionally, asset management is catching up with the benefit of regulatory guidance issued early in 2012. Banking organizations, however, have been acting without specific guidance in this area, creating an extra risk.

In January 2013, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) addressed this risk by proposing specific guidance for the use of social media by federally supervised banks, and certain nonbank entities (collectively, banks), called Social Media: Consumer Risk Management Guidance (PDF).  (more…)

By Bora Yagiz, Compliance Complete

NEW YORK, Feb. 13 (Thomson Reuters Accelus) - The guidelines on social media proposed by bank regulators comprising the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) in January are intended as a basic tool to help financial institutions identify potential trouble areas and address them as part of an overall risk management program.

The council identified potential risks for financial institutions in the areas including deposit insurance, debt collection practices, use of payments systems, equal access for credit, and bank-secrecy anti-money laundering processes.  (more…)

By Brett Wolf, Complinet

Some financial institutions are scrambling to put distance between themselves and the whistleblower web site WikiLeaks, but is this necessary? Financial services firms face no clear legal obligation to cut off WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange, but intense publicity and the pressure brought by the US government and lawmakers to cripple the organization are forcing companies to weigh other risks they might face if they continue to do business with WikiLeaks.

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– The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own –

By Jason Bush

MOSCOW, April 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Hewlett-Packard is under investigation for paying bribes in Russia. It’s the latest sign that western regulators are paying close attention to Russian business practices. The resulting reputational and legal risk may now be the biggest worry for foreign companies in Russia.

German prosecutors suspect former HP managers of paying 8 million euros in kick-backs. Ironically, the payments concern a 35 million euro contract to supply Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office — the very body charged with fighting corruption.