Financial regulation is a broad set of policies that apply to the financial sector in most jurisdictions, justified by two main features of finance: systemic risk, which implies that the failure of financial firms involves public interest considerations; and information asymmetry, which justifies curbs on freedom of contract in selected areas of financial services, particularly those that involve retail clients and/or Principal–agent problems. An integral part of financial regulation is the supervision of designated financial firms and markets by specialized authorities such as securities commissions and bank supervisors.
An offshore bank is a bank that is operated and regulated under international banking license, which usually prohibits the bank from establishing any business activities in the jurisdiction of establishment. Due to less regulation and transparency, accounts with offshore banks were often used to hide undeclared income. Since the 1980s, jurisdictions that provide financial services to nonresidents on a big scale can be referred to as offshore financial centres. OFCs often also levy little or no corporation tax and/or personal income and high direct taxes such as duty, making the cost of living high.
The Financial Action Task Force (on Money Laundering) ('FATF, aka "Fatiff"), also known by its French name, Groupe d'action financière (GAFI), is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering and to maintain certain interest. In 2001, its mandate was expanded to include terrorism financing.
The Central Bank of Azerbaijan is the central bank of Azerbaijan Republic. The headquarters of the bank is located in the capital city Baku.
Banque du Liban is the central bank of Lebanon. It was established on August 1, 1963, and became fully operational on April 1, 1964. In 2023, Wassim Mansouri stepped up as interim governor of the Banque du Liban after Lebanon failed to name a successor to Riad Salameh, whose term finished in July 2023. Salameh, who was chairman for 30 years, has been accused of corruption, money laundering and running the largest Ponzi scheme in history; he was additionally labeled "the world’s worst central banker". He is currently under sanctions by Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Financial Action Task Force blacklist, is a blacklist maintained by the Financial Action Task Force.
Virtual currency, or virtual money, is a digital currency that is largely unregulated, issued and usually controlled by its developers, and used and accepted electronically among the members of a specific virtual community. In 2014, the European Banking Authority defined virtual currency as "a digital representation of value that is neither issued by a central bank or a public authority, nor necessarily attached to a fiat currency but is accepted by natural or legal persons as a means of payment and can be transferred, stored or traded electronically." A digital currency issued by a central bank is referred to as a central bank digital currency.
Anti-money laundering (AML) software is software used in the finance and legal industries to help companies comply with the legal requirements for financial institutions and other regulated entities to prevent or report money laundering activities. AML software can facilitate faster and more accurate compliance and investigations.
A non-banking financial institution (NBFI) or non-bank financial company (NBFC) is a financial institution that is not legally a bank; it does not have a full banking license or is not supervised by a national or international banking regulatory agency. NBFC facilitate bank-related financial services, such as investment, risk pooling, contractual savings, and market brokering. Examples of these include hedge funds, insurance firms, pawn shops, cashier's check issuers, check cashing locations, payday lending, currency exchanges, and microloan organizations.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is South Korea's integrated financial regulator that examines and supervises financial institutions under the broad oversight of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the government regulatory authority staffed by civil servants.
An identity verification service is used by businesses to ensure that users or customers provide information that is associated with the identity of a real person. The service may verify the authenticity of physical identity documents such as a driver's license, passport, or a nationally issued identity document through documentary verification. Additionally, also involve the verification of identity information (fields) against independent and authoritative sources, such as a credit bureau or proprietary government data.
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, better known as CySEC, is the financial regulatory agency of Cyprus. As an EU member state, CySEC's financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) is a regulatory authority responsible for the regulation, supervision and inspection of all financial services other than banking institutions and global business in Mauritius. The FSC operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development within an internationally recognised legal framework which includes the FSC Act, the Securities Act and the Insurance Act, it licenses, regulates, monitors and supervises the conduct of business activities in the non-banking financial services sector.
Swissquote Group Holding SA is a Swiss banking group specialising in providing online financial and trading services. Its headquarters are located in Gland, Switzerland. The Group's shares have been listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange under the ticker symbol "SQN" since 29 May 2000. The company had 1,134 employees in 2023. Swissquote Bank Ltd holds a banking licence issued by its supervisory authority, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
Paxos Trust Company is a New York–based financial institution and technology company specializing in blockchain. The company's product offerings include a cryptocurrency brokerage service, asset tokenization services, and settlement services. ItBit, a bitcoin exchange run by Paxos, was the first bitcoin exchange to be licensed by the New York State Department of Financial Services, granting the company the ability to be the custodian and exchange for customers in the United States.
The general notion of cryptocurrencies in Europe denotes the processes of legislative regulation, distribution, circulation, and storage of cryptocurrencies in Europe. In April 2023, the EU Parliament passed the Markets in Crypto Act (MiCA) unified legal framework for crypto-assets within the European Union.
Crypto.com is a cryptocurrency exchange company based in Singapore that offers various financial services, including an app, exchange, and noncustodial DeFi wallet, NFT marketplace, and direct payment service in cryptocurrency. As of June 2023, the company reportedly had 100 million customers and 4,000 employees.
Financial regulation in India is governed by a number of regulatory bodies. Financial regulation is a form of regulation or supervision, which subjects financial institutions to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, aiming to maintain the stability and integrity of the financial system. This may be handled by either a government or non-government organization. Financial regulation has also influenced the structure of banking sectors by increasing the variety of financial products available. Financial regulation forms one of three legal categories which constitutes the content of financial law, the other two being market practices and case law.
Fintech in Australia is the evolving intersection of financial services and advanced technology in the Australian market. It involves innovations in banking, investment, insurance, and personal finance, facilitated by technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence.
VT Markets is an Australian based global multi-asset broker established in 2015. It provides trading services in foreign exchange, contracts for difference (CFDs) on indices, commodities, stocks, and other asset classes. VT Markets operates under regulatory oversight in various jurisdictions in over 160 countries.
