Sky Blog
The growth of Fintech, the use of technology in providing financial services, has accelerated rapidly since the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC). While Fintech provides both economic benefits and increasing levels of financial inclusion, it also comes with risks. These …
Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued guidance regarding “robo-advisers,” automated investment advice tools accessed via web-based or mobile platforms with minimal human interaction.1 The guidance is an important reminder to the industry that robo-advisers are …
In a new research paper, we consider the impact of a group of new entrants into financial services and regulation. These new entrants include technology, e-commerce, social media, and telecommunications companies with often large pre-existing bases of non-financial services customers. …
We can learn a lot from the evolution of smartphones as we try to envisage where the fintech ecosystem–and banks’ role within it–might be heading in the future. Smartphones have ushered in an age when different companies can easily work …
The blockchain protocol (a form of a ‘distributed ledger system’) was originally designed as a platform to process Bitcoin transactions. The protocol enables peer-to-peer transactions and eliminates the need for a trusted intermediary to verify and process the transactions.
The …
Recent advances in financial technology (FinTech) have dramatically transformed the financial landscape with respect to the way we access, invest, and transfer financial capital. In our recent article, we explore a promising avenue for the use of natural-language processing in …
The Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) has been working for over a year to develop a comprehensive framework to improve the OCC’s ability to identify and understand trends and innovations in the financial services industry, as well …
This is the fourth in a series examining the increased regulatory scrutiny on new and innovative financial technologies (“FinTech”).[1]
This update considers the initiatives of two federal regulatory agencies—the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) and …
Two major challenges have arisen for financial services companies since the global financial crisis (GFC) of 2008. On the expense side, post-crisis fines have exceeded $200 billion, and the ongoing cost of regulation and compliance has become massive. On the …
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB” or “Bureau”) made headlines in FinTech on October 24, 2016. First, the Bureau released its first-ever Project Catalyst report on promoting consumer-friendly innovation (the “Report”). The Report summarizes the work conducted by Project …
In a September 22, 2016, post on this blog, available here, Professor Wulf Kaal asked in the title to his piece, “What Happens When Technology Is Faster Than the Law?” He noted that while “innovation driven by science and …
In this update, we review a number of recent regulatory developments that may impact firms engaged in the industry of new and innovative financial technology (“FinTech”). First, we discuss the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (“FDIC”) new guidance on examining third-party …
Regulatory compliance is time consuming and expensive for both financial institutions and regulators—and the complexity and cost is increasing. According to Federal Financial Analytics, a policy analysis firm, the six largest U.S. banks spent $70.2 billion on compliance in 2013, …
Designing a regulatory framework that ensures the safety of users and the public while facilitating the commercial use and consumer enjoyment of disruptive innovation is a challenging undertaking. This is particularly true in contemporary settings, where innovation is quicker and …
The World Economic Forum threw a knockout punch last month when it released its report, “The Future of Infrastructure: An Ambitious Look at How Blockchain Can Reshape Financial Services.”[1] When Giancarlo Bruno, the World Economic Forum’s Head …
Innovative businesses in the financial services industry looking to test exciting new financial products and services able to apply to the UK’s regulatory sandbox.
The “regulatory sandbox” is the next step for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as part of …
On Monday, LendingClub Corp., a leader in the growing online lending space, announced the surprise resignation of its founder and CEO, Renaud Laplanche. Laplanche resigned in response to a board investigation that revealed a number of internal control failures, including …
Amid much fanfare, Square Inc. went public in an IPO at the New York Stock Exchange on November 19, 2015. Founded in San Francisco by, among others, Jack Dorsey who still runs the company to this day, the company has …