The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (the “Global Forum”) held its 10th-anniversary meeting in Paris last week. It had cause for celebration: ten years since the G20 Leaders declared that “the era of banking secrecy is over”, the Global Forum has achieved great progress in implementing the standards for international tax transparency and exchange […]

The post ‘Unprecedented success’ in combating offshore tax evasion over the past decade: OECD appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Regulators in the region have extended their focus on ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) to include shell companies in a bid to better identify which natural persons are profiting from certain fund transfers, according to an anti-money laundering (AML) expert. “I don’t think shell companies are something new anywhere. Every country has nominee companies, and usage of legal persons in business […]

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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has published a consultation paper on rolling out measures, such as mandatory ultimate beneficiary ownership (UBO) disclosure, to discourage financial institutions from holding omnibus accounts. In publishing ‘Requirements on Controls Against Market Abuse’, the Singaporean regulator hopes to take a step towards broadening its supervisory scope and identifying possible misconduct earlier by requesting more […]

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HNWIs are increasingly attracted to setting up corporate structures in mid-shore hubs like Hong Kong and Singapore, as opposed to traditional offshore hubs, due to new corporate structure regulations which seek greater operational transparency, says corporate service provider Vistra. A number of offshore jurisdictions — including the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of […]

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Demand for trust structures has not been significantly impacted by enhanced ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) disclosure regulations, as other wealth planning structures face similarly stringent transparency requirements, according to HSBC Private Banking’s Joanna Ho, head of wealth planning, Asia Pacific, private wealth solutions. “The need for transparency is the same in any structure. Trusts are no different from the other […]

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The first locally conceived certification programme for professional trustees in Hong Kong has been received well by trust and fiduciary practitioners amid an evolving regulatory landscape in the city. Ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) disclosures — a significant part of trust structures — have recently developed as a major theme in international regulatory front and in March, Hong Kong followed suit to […]

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More than two-thirds of senior correspondent banking, compliance, and anti-money laundering (AML) professionals find collecting accurate ownership and ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) information for KYC due diligence checks challenging, according to the annual Accuity financial counterparty KYC survey, ‘Shifting regulatory requirements and a spotlight on ownership’. As regulators across the globe pick up the pace in implementing and enforcing tighter compliance […]

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Increasingly stringent regulatory requirements and reporting obligations are raising the costs of running private banks without necessarily minimising the risks associated with money laundering and tax evasion, according to a financial crime expert at Deloitte. A high level of privacy alongside large transactions means private clients often have to adhere to additional regulations — such as enhanced due diligence, ultimate […]

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Proper client segmentation is “very important” in maintaining a profitable business as the time and cost of meeting compliance requirements increases, Patrick Dreyfuss, DBS Wealth Management’s COO, has told Asian Private Banker. Building on recent comments made by Piyush Gupta, the bank’s CEO, on how DBS’s digital transformation is enabling it to lower costs and increase profitability, Dreyfuss asserted that client segmentation […]

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July marked the implementation of the long-discussed open-ended fund company (OFC) structure in Hong Kong, providing an alternative to unit trusts and more flexibility on share capital adjustment. The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) gazetted the Code on Open-ended Fund Companies and relevant forms for the implementation of the OFC regime last week, which came into legislation last Monday. The legislation […]

The post July Regulatory Round-up: OFC structure launches in Hong Kong; AML remains focus of compliance appeared first on Asian Private Banker.

Identifying the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) of trusts and entities is the key focus of regulators’ anti-money laundering (AML) agenda, Sven Stumbauer, managing director, financial advisory services, for US consultancy AlixPartners, has told Asian Private Banker. Since the Panama and Paradise Papers episodes which revealed trusts and structures held by celebrities and politically exposed persons (PEPs) in secretive jurisdictions, regulators […]

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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has proposed regulatory amendments that will allow the regulator to wield more power over the resolution regimes of Singapore-incorporated financial institutions (FIs). The Singapore regulator initiated consultation proceedings yesterday, proposing regulation amendments that will apply to banks, insurers, payment companies, and other FIs and grant the regulator power to temporarily hold early termination of […]

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New legislation that targets ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) in trusts will render obsolete the use of trust structures to hide assets, says Lee Wong, head of family services, Asia, Lombard Odier. The Companies (Amendment) Ordinance 2018 (CAO) and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO) came into effect at the beginning of this month. The legislation requires trust and company […]

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The rigour of KYC and client due diligence processes private banks in the region, – particularly when it comes to ultimate beneficial owners and politically exposed persons (PEPs) – is once again in the spotlight following the ‘Paradise Papers’ leak last week, tech vendors tell Asian Private Banker. The ‘Paradise Papers’ data dump – similar to the ‘Panama Papers’ leak […]

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The MAS’ decision to shut down BSI Singapore yesterday sent shockwaves through the industry, forcing private banks to reassess their anti-money laundering (AML) controls, according to compliance and AML experts who have spoken with Asian Private Banker on the matter. “The decisive action [taken by Singaporean regulators] demonstrates that banks without proper AML controls or culture can expect to face […]

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If private banks in Asia have learned anything from the “Panama Papers” leak – particularly those directly involved in the investigation – it is that the “burden of proof” rests squarely on the shoulders of financial institutions who intend to use offshore companies. This is the message coming from Henry Balani, a global head of strategic affairs at Accuity and FircoSoft, who […]

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