The Libra Association has appointed HSBC veteran James Emmett as managing director of its subsidiary firm, Libra Networks LLC. James Emmet spent 25 years at HSBC and is a former colleague of the Libra Association’s new CEO, former HSBC chief legal officer Stuart Levey. Levey is also the former Under Secretary for Terrorism under the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama Emmett has held multiple roles in his long career at HSBC, most recently working as group general manager. In an official statement, Levey underscored Emmett’s extensive experience as a financial services executive “with deep substantive expertise and …

The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has announced it will be changing the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) rules within the financial sector. The announcement stated that FinCen will be seeking public feedback on forthcoming regulatory proposals intended to modernize and strengthen rules governing the reporting and monitoring requirements of financial institutions. The new policies seek to address “the evolving threats of illicit finance, such as money laundering, terrorist financing and related crimes” which suggests that crypto firms and exchanges will be firmly in the sights of the coming regulatory changes. They will also impact the compliance …

An organization of state regulators in the U.S. has announced a new streamlined process for money transmitter licensing that will save large operators — including firms — from getting separate licenses in every state. The Sept. 15 announcement from the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) has set out parameters for state licensing that will involve a single exam administered by examiners from across the country. Nationwide payments firms, meaning those operating as money transmitters in 40 or more states, will be able to get a single license to operate throughout the U.S. There are currently 78 such firms in …

A subsidiary of Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, has joined a blockchain-based platform for commodity trade finance. Sberbank Switzerland AG has signed an agreement with Swiss trade finance platform Komgo to apply its blockchain-powered trade finance service. Representatives from Sberbank Switzerland told Cointelegraph that the collaboration with Komgo addresses the growing digitization of trade finance. Evgeny Kravchenko, head of trade finance at Sberbank, outlined that commodity trade finance is a strategic business of Sberbank Switzerland. According to the executive, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States countries are the company’s key markets, while Sberbank Switzerland also supports trade flows globally. “In …

BNP Paribas’ securities arm has partnered with Digital Asset to develop a number of real-time trade and settlement applications using DAML-based smart contracts, the firm announced on Sept. 15. The new DAML-driven apps will connect BNP Paribas Securities Services with major global stock exchanges like the Australian Securities Exchange, or ASX, and the Hong Kong Exchange, or HKEX. The apps will provide market participants in the Asia Pacific with real-time access to ASX’s and HKEX’s upcoming blockchain-based trading and settlement platforms. BNP Paribas will specifically connect to the ASX’s blockchain-powered equity transaction platform known as the Clearing House Electronic Subregister …

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the world’s 14 largest banks have lost $635.33 billion in market capitalization. This is more than three times the current market capitalization of Bitcoin (BTC) and almost double the capitalization of all cryptocurrencies. Market capitalization of the world’s biggest banks. Source: Buy Shares. The starting point for this data is December 19. For reference, Bitcoin’s market cap at the time was $130 billion. As the world was entering the pandemic induced recession, six of the banks on the list had a market cap higher than Bitcoin. Currently, only two are bigger — JPMorgan Chase and …

The Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong, a major local alliance promoting crypto awareness and education, is launching the “Bitcoin Tram” ad campaign in Hong Kong; one of the world’s main global financial centres. According to a Sept. 11 announcement, the new ad campaign composes three double-decker trams fully covered with Bitcoin logos and ads alongside 20 similarly-designed billboards across the city. Hong Kong’s Bitcoin Association said in the announcement that the “educational campaign” was initiated by the Hong Kong Bitcoin community and is coordinated by the association. The campaign is financed with donations from the community, the non-profit added. A …

Financial institutions worldwide have reported 134,500 suspicious transactions concerning virtual currencies in the past two years — but that’s just the tip of the iceberg according to a report published by blockchain forensics firm CipherTrace. The report says the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has seen a major increase in suspicious transaction reports from institutions since publishing its May 2019 Advisory on Illicit Activity Involving Convertible Virtual Currency (CVC). Despite this, CipherTrace asserts that many financial institutions have developed inadequate “home-grown” systems for identifying cryptocurrency-related accounts and transactions, that simply use lists of the names of crypto exchanges and virtual …

United Kingdom fintech Ziglu announced the launch of its peer-to-peer (P2P) payments service for both fiat and cryptocurrency on Sept. 7. This follows hot on the heels of receiving both the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Electronic Money Institution licence, and the Fifth Money Laundering Directive (5MLD) licence last week. Ziglu launched in June, with a vision to offer simple and secure access to any currency. The platform is undergoing continuous development and many more features are scheduled for the future. Cointelegraph spoke to Ziglu founder and CEO Mark Hipperson about becoming fully licenced, P2P payments and future plans. He …

Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway substantially cut their position on Wells Fargo, selling 100 million shares. The Oracle of Omaha is continuing to trim his position in bank stocks, buoying the bull case for gold and Bitcoin (BTC). Berkshire reportedly held $32 billion in equity in Wells Fargo at one point, Fox Business reported on Sep. 5. The investment conglomerate now owns 3.3% in equity of the lender, worth just $3.36 billion. Why did Buffett cut Wells Fargo and how could it benefit Bitcoin? Throughout his career, Buffett emphasized the importance of value investing and cash flow. The investor typically …

The pressure induced by the ongoing economic crisis, obsolete trade finance systems and mounting geopolitical tensions is pushing the international trade finance industry down a rabbit hole. To add to the already critical situation, recent trade finance scandals involving major players such as Hin Leong, ZenRock, Agritrade and Hontop Energy amounted to a loss of almost $6 billion that was mostly borne by banks. To limit their exposure to such threats, major banks like ABN Amro, Société Générale and BNP Paribas have withdrawn completely from this sector, while others have raised the bar on their funding processes, said Samir Neji, …

Singapore Exchange (SGX), a major investment holding company in Singapore, has issued its first digital bond powered by blockchain technology. As officially announced on Sept. 1, SGX deployed its digital asset issuance platform to conduct a 400 million Singapore dollar ($294 million) 5.5-year public bond issuance for major local food and agri-business company, Olam International. Focused on Asia bond markets, the new digital bond was enabled by cooperation with SGX’s established blockchain partners like HSBC Singapore and investment firm Temasek. As part of the joint initiative, HSBC provided its on-chain payments solution allowing instant settlement in multiple currencies to handle …