Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized Issue 2 2024

Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized | Issue 2 | 2024 2 QUICK LINKS AIFMD ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING CBDC CRYPTOASSETS CYBERSECURITY FINTECH FSB IOSCO MIFID II/MIFIR OPERATIONAL RESILIENCE SUSTAINABLE FINANCE/ESG ASIA EUROPE LUXEMBOURG NETHERLANDS NORTH AMERICA UNITED KINGDOM ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING Public Consultation on Proposal for Information Sharing Among Authorised Institutions to Aid in Prevention or Detection of Crime On 23 January 2024, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued a public consultation paper seeking views on its proposal to allow Authorised Institutions (AIs) to share information on customer accounts for the purposes of preventing and detecting financial crime. The HKMA says that recent years have seen a sharp global increase in financial crime, especially digital fraud, including in Hong Kong. In addition to the harm caused to victims, large-scale digital fraud could undermine public confidence in the use of new digital financial services. Information sharing is internationally recognised as an effective tool in addressing financial crime. The HKMA also states that while Hong Kong has achieved positive outcomes through public- private information sharing partnerships, criminals’ exploitation of the financial system to move illicit funds continues to pose a threat. So it says there is a need for faster sharing of information to further support the advanced use of technology and analytics to detect and disrupt fraud and mule account networks and intercept illicit funds more effectively. Against this backdrop, the HKMA invites views from the banking sector andmembers of the public on its proposal to facilitate AI-to-AI information sharing, including legislative amendments to provide legal protection to AIs and safeguards to protect data privacy and customer confidentiality. The proposed arrangement is in linewith similar developments in other international financial centres. The consultation period closes on 29 March 2024. Link to the Consultation here Link to Hong Kong Government Press Release here Council and Parliament Strike Deal on Stricter Rules On 18 January 2024 the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the sixth Anti-Money Laundering (AML) directive and the EU “single rulebook” regulation. The agreed provisions, part of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) package, will have to be applied by banks and other obliged entities to protect the EU internal market frommoney laundering and terrorist financing. The new bills provide access to beneficial ownership information and give more powers to Financial Intelligence Units to analyse and detect money laundering and terrorist financing cases as well as to suspend suspicious transactions. Link to the Council of the EU Announcement here CBDC Bank of England and HM Treasury Respond to Digital Pound Consultation On 25 January 2024 the Bank of England (BoE) and HM Treasury (HMT) published their response to the consultation on a digital pound that was launched in February 2023. No final decision has been made to pursue a UK issued central bank digital currency (CBDC) - also called the digital pound. The BoE and HMT says work will continue during the design phase exploring its feasibility and potential design choices. This will look at how a digital pound could be used in the UK economy, providing greater choice, convenience and innovation for households and businesses making and accepting everyday payments. As part of broader work on payments innovation, the work will also help strengthen the UK’s position as a competitive global leader in finance.