Compliance

On October 5, 2016 the CFPB finalized strong federal consumer protections for prepaid account users. This new rule applies specific federal consumer protections to broad swaths of the prepaid market for the first time, and financial institutions have until October 2017 to tweak their products and institute new compliance measures to fit the new federal guidelines.

ADA website lawsuits are on the rise as technology becomes increasingly pervasive in life and in business, and many sites are essentially inaccessible to users with sight impairments or print disabilities. Learn how to protect your business from discrimination claims by making your website accessible to all users.

Prior to about 2014, doing business in Ukraine was a risky proposition. The country has long been known for widespread corruption and half-hearted efforts to prosecute wrongdoers, though that perception is changing. In just the past two years, the percentage of people who believe it’s necessary to participate in the corrupt system in order to succeed has fallen dramatically.

With due diligence, the expectation is that when risks are identified, something is done about them. Knowledge of a potential threat and mitigation of that problem are two very different things. The NFL could learn a thing or two about proper due diligence; its handling of recent domestic abuse among its players indicates the league doesn’t take abuse as seriously...

If this month’s roundup is any indication, financial crime is on the rise across the globe. Ahmed Taimour shares some of September’s most significant news stories related to compliance, fraud and anti-corruption measures. The U.S. Financial Action Task Force has been hard at work, as have other anti-corruption organizations in the international community.

The Environmental Protection Agency will delegate to states authority to implement and administer the Clean Air Act at the state level, provided an acceptable state implementation plan is in place. And the EPA has long allowed for certain exceptions in emissions limits during start-up, shutdown, and malfunction periods. But that has recently changed for more than 30 states.

If you haven’t revisited your company’s sanctions compliance program in a while, now is the time. U.S. regulators expect a certain level of sophistication – not to mention effectiveness. Clifford Chance attorneys Wendy Wysong, Ali Burney and Nick Turner outline best practices for maintaining compliance with U.S. economic sanctions.

We’ve all seen headlines about disastrous IT outages that cost companies millions. It’s easy to sit back and judge. How could they have possibly let that happen? Reality check: IT outages happen every day. It’s how you respond that counts. Learn from the mistakes other companies make far too often.

The corporate “gatekeepers,” attorneys and compliance officers, are often most likely to learn about illegalities, and they are also the most challenged as prospective whistleblowers. Few definitive rules exist, but due to legal, ethical or fiduciary constraints, they may be prohibited from informing authorities about wrongdoing.

The state of New York has recently passed a new rule pertaining to transaction monitoring and screening requirements within regulated institutions. Does your anti-money laundering program comply with the new requirements? And will your organization have implemented an annual board resolution or senior officer compliance finding on time?

Whistleblowers in Australia cannot expect the same level of protection as American whistleblowers. Some limited protections exist, though not with every regulatory body or in every jurisdiction. But the SEC receives a fair number of tips from Australia, indicating that Australians have a taste for the American system, which rewards whistleblowing.

August brought more than heat waves and back-to-school photos. In the last month, we've seen plenty of money laundering, fraud and responses from regulators globally. AML expert Ahmed Taimour offers the Reader's Digest version of compliance stories from Brazil to China.