By Evan Abrams 

Working in conjunction with the Financial Stability Board, Hong Kong has set out to update its financial industry laws and regulations. While the new law would give policy makers a variety of options to deal with failing institutions, it would allow the government to bailout a variety of banks, brokerages, and insurers if they believe a failure could trigger a systemic collapse. While the bailout provisions may prove unpopular, many observers feel the law is necessary for Hong Kong to remain a competitive and attractive financial hub. The bailout provision may be particularly hard for Hong Kong residents to swallow, because the majority of the island’s financial institutions are foreign companies. See more here from the South China Morning Post.

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March 06, 2015

By Sam Obenhaus

The fix was in and now the Financial Stability Board (FSB), an international financial regulator created by the G20, is investigating.

At issue is alleged collusion among traders to set benchmark foreign-exchange rates.  According to initial investigations carried out by dozens of financial regulators across the globe, traders used chat rooms to share market-moving information about their impending foreign-exchange trades.   They then allegedly used this information to organize their trades during “the fix,” which is a one minute span starting at 3:59:30 London time each afternoon.  The trades executed during “the fix” are used to set the foreign exchange benchmark rates.

After independent investigations by regulators including the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Reserve Bank of Australia, the FSB is launching its own probe. 

The FSB was created to “to develop and promote the implementation of effective regulatory, supervisory and other financial sector policies” across the G20.  Its membership is made up of financial regulators from G20 states.  The United States’ Treasury Department, Federal Reserve Board, and Securities and Exchange Commission are all members.

Bloomberg has more on this story.

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February 21, 2014