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Bank Of Lithuania Issues Warning To EMI Over Sanctions Compliance
The Bank of Lithuania has issued a warning to IBS Lithuania after determining that the e-money institution (EMI) has failed to comply with international sanctions and client identification requirements.
During the audited period, the central bank found that IBS Lithuania's internal policies and control procedures lacked sufficient quality assurance and testing measures for the implementation of international sanctions and restrictive measures.
This resulted in inadequate application of these measures in practice. In addition, deficiencies were found in the institution's IT system, customer information verification processes and the identification of customer representatives.
Despite these issues, the Bank of Lithuania has acknowledged that all identified deficiencies have since been addressed, with some rectified prior to the inspection.
Considering these remedial actions and other circumstances, the bank decided to issue a warning to the company, rather than a more punitive measure.
India's Financial Sector Mostly Unaffected By Microsoft Outage, Says RBI
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a statement on last week’s Microsoft outage following an assessment of its impact on the financial services sector.
The central bank said there were “minor disruptions” at ten banks and non-bank financial companies (NBFCs), all of which have either been resolved or are in the process of being resolved.
“Critical systems of most banks are not in the cloud, and only a few banks are using the CrowdStrike tool,” said the RBI, referring to Falcon Sensor, the tool whose failed update led to the outage.
“Overall, the Indian financial sector in the Reserve Bank’s domain remains insulated from the global outage.”
CFPB Proposes Rule To Clarify Fees For Paycheck Advance Products
The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued a new interpretive rule which confirms that many paycheck advance products are consumer loans and are therefore subject to the Truth in Lending Act.
This guidance aims to ensure that paycheck advance lenders disclose the costs and fees associated with these credit products to borrowers.
A newly published CFPB report highlights that workers using employer-sponsored paycheck advance loans take out an average of 27 such loans annually, with typical loans carrying an annual percentage rate (APR) exceeding 100 percent.
"Paycheck advance products are often marketed to and designed for employers, rather than employees," said CFPB director Rohit Chopra.
"The CFPB's actions will help workers know what they are getting with these products and prevent race-to-the-bottom business practices."
Standard Chartered Named Among Prospective Hong Kong Stablecoin Issuers
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has named Standard Chartered among three groups of participants in the first phase of its stablecoin issuer sandbox.
The sandbox, which was announced in March 2024, is part of the regulator's efforts to develop a “sustainable” and “responsible” ecosystem for stablecoin issuance.
Through the sandbox, the HKMA will allow institutions with plans to issue stablecoins in Hong Kong to conduct testing on their operational plans and risk management procedures.
Standard Chartered will partner with Animoca Brands and Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) on the sandbox, while RD InnoTech and JINGDONG Coinlink Technology will run separate operations.
The move follows the HKMA’s publication of a consultation response which sets out the likely provisions in the territory’s first bill to regulate stablecoin issuance.
The bill will be introduced to the legislature later this year and the HKMA will also publish licensing and supervisory guidelines.
