Clifford Chance

Welcome to this week's global fintech round-up, summarising fintech regulatory developments that have happened around the world along with our Clifford Chance fintech publications and upcoming events.

Details of these and previous developments can also be found on our Fintech Topic Guide on the Clifford Chance Financial Markets Toolkit.

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CLIFFORD CHANCE PUBLICATIONS AND MATERIALS

Clifford Chance briefing – PRC passes milestone legislation for personal information protection

Clifford Chance briefing – SEC fines eight firms for deficient cybersecurity practices, issues warning about importance of robust policies

SPOTLIGHT: 

Spotlight: The digital future of syndicated loans

The outbreak of coronavirus has been an accelerator for digitalisation for many aspects of our lives, but what impact has it had on the syndicated loan market? There has been significant focus on the development of technological solutions for the negotiation, execution, administration and trading of loans – ideally through the adoption of single platform solutions. But in practice, it appears that the market is adopting technology step by step by investing in various technological solutions which address specific points in the loan life cycle.

Read our briefing on the digital future of syndicated loans, in which we explore the use of technology (including DLT and smart contracts) in areas such as automating a loan, signing a loan electronically, KYC and secondary loan trading, as well as the legal, regulatory and practical challenges associated with implementing these solutions.

GLOBAL LEGAL AND REGULATORY UPDATES

International

• (7 Sep 2021) International Organization of Securities Commissions guidance​ on regulating and supervising the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning by market intermediaries and asset managers. | Press release

Africa and the Middle East

South Africa:

• (3 Sep 2021) Financial Sector Conduct Authority statement, in which it joins various other regulatory authorities around the world in warning consumers that the cryptoasset exchange Binance is not authorised to conduct business in its jurisdiction.

Americas

Chile:              

• (6 Sep 2021) The Minister of Finance, Rodrigo Cerda, has announced that a new bill on financial innovation ​has been introduced to Congress. The bill seeks to update the country's financial regulation to accommodate innovative business models, companies and services. The bill places certain fintech services under the supervision of the Financial Market Commission and introduces a framework for an open finance system. | Press release (in Spanish) | Guidelines for the development of an open finance framework​ (in Spanish)

El Salvador:

• (7 Sep 2021) Bitcoin Act (in Spanish), which has entered into force. The law establishes Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador from 7 September 2021. | Press release (in Spanish)

Panama:      

• (6 Sep 2021) Tweet (in Spanish) from Congressman Gabriel Silva, in which he announces that a bill introducing a regulatory framework for cryptoassets has been introduced to Congress. The bill, as shared by Silva​ (in Spanish), would permit Panamanian citizens and legal entities to use cryptoassets as a means of payment for civil and commercial operations and for tax obligations.

APAC

China:            

• (3 Sep 2021) People's Bank of China 2021 financial stability report (in Chinese), in which it states that its efforts to crack down on the use of cryptoassets have been successful.

Singapore:   

• (3 Sep 2021) Speech by Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, on the launch of the Asian Institute of Digital Finance (AIDF). The AIDF is a collaboration between the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the National Research Foundation and the National University of Singapore. It was established to be a thought leader and knowledge hub for fintech and to provide a site for experimenting and developing financial technologies. The speech covers recent fintech developments around the world and the planned activity of the AIDF going forward. | AIDF website

Europe

EU:  

• (6 Sep 2021) Interview​ with Ulrich Bindseil, Director General of the European Central Bank (ECB)'s Directorate General Market Infrastructure and Payments, in which he discusses the investigation phase of the ECB's digital euro project, which will run from October 2021 to October 2023.
• (2 Sep 2021) European Banking Federation (EBF) response to the EU Commission's proposal for a regulation establishing a framework for a European digital identity (e-ID). The EBF broadly supports the Commission's proposal and calls for the banking sector's involvement in the establishment of a common, openly-available toolbox, which would enable the development of multiple, interoperable e-ID solutions. | Press release.
• (2 Sep 2021) European Securities and Markets Authority report on trends, risks and vulnerabilities in the financial markets. The report highlights cryptoassets as a trending financial innovation and suggests that their volatility, along with the rise of decentralised finance, central bank digital currencies and stablecoins, are contributing to increasing risk across all asset classes.

UK

• (6 Sep 2021) Speech​ by the Chair of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Charles Randell, on the regulation of digital tokens. Randell highlights the benefits of tokens but suggests that legislators need to think carefully about how to ensure they are not used for financial crime and the extent to which consumers are permitted to buy unregulated, speculative tokens.
• (6 Sep 2021) The FCA has announced the launch of its second green fintech challenge, an initiative under which it provides regulatory support to firms developing innovative green solutions in the financial markets. The challenge focuses in particular on solutions relating to sustainability reporting and disclosure, and helping consumers better understand the environmental, social and governance (ESG) characteristics of products and providers. The deadline for applications is 15 November 2021. | Press release

Ukraine:      

•  (8 Sep 2021) Law on Virtual Assets (in Ukrainian), which has been adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament. The law introduces a legal regime for virtual assets and virtual asset exchanges overseen by the Ministry of Digital Transformation. It will take effect once it is signed into law by the President. | Press release (in Ukrainian)​

Additional Information

This publication does not necessarily deal with every important topic nor cover every aspect of the topics with which it deals. It is not designed to provide legal or other advice. Clifford Chance is not responsible for third party content. Please note that English language translations may not be available for some content. 

The content above relating to the People's Republic of China (PRC) is based on our experience as international counsel representing clients in business activities in the PRC and should not be construed as constituting a legal opinion on the application of PRC law. As is the case for all international law firms with offices in the PRC, whilst we are authorised to provide information concerning the effect of the Chinese legal environment, we are not permitted to engage in Chinese legal affairs. Our employees who have PRC legal professional qualification certificates are currently not PRC practising lawyers.