What’s New on the FSA Website

Week of August 21 - August 25, 2017

This page contains the latest in events, developments, and updates to the FSA website.

Public Comments

(The following public comment is available in Japanese)

August 22, 2017:

Publication of the draft amendments to the “Comprehensive Guidelines for Supervision of Financial Instruments Business Operators” < Summary> The FSA proposed the draft amendments to the “Comprehensive Guidelines for Supervision of Financial Instruments Business Operators.” The proposal aims to clarify supervisory points of attention regarding solicitation for financial instruments transactions using NISA scheme following the introduction of “installment NISA,” a system of tax exemption for dividends and capital gains derived from installment investing in the account, from January 2018.

Press Releases

(The following press releases are available in English)

International 

August 22, 2017:	International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a consultative document "Regulatory Reporting and Public Transparency in the Secondary Corporate Bond Markets"

Others

August 24, 2017:	Updated list of issuers of gift certificates in repayment procedures based on the “Payment Services Act”

(The following press releases are available in Japanese)

Securities

August 21, 2017:	An updated list of entities that are operating financial instruments businesses without proper registration (Kanto Local Finance Bureau) < Summary> The FSA and the Kanto Local Finance Bureau issued warnings to entities that are operating financial instruments businesses without proper registration. (cf. updated list of Japan-based entities).

Others

August 25, 2017:

Publication of the updated regulatory notice designating certain transactions pertaining to the adoption of substituted compliance based on equivalence assessment regarding margin requirements for non-centrally cleared OTC derivatives < Summary> The FSA updated the regulatory notice designating certain transactions pertaining to the adoption of substituted compliance based on equivalence assessment regarding margin requirements for non-centrally cleared OTC derivatives. This regulatory notice prescribes a framework of substituted compliance for avoiding duplicative application of Japanese and foreign margin requirements. This framework allows Financial Instruments Business Operators etc. to exchange initial and variation margin in complying with foreign margin rules provided that such rules are deemed as equivalent to the corresponding rules in Japan and at least one of the counterparties is subject to appropriate supervision by the foreign authority. Based on the negotiations between the FSA and foreign authorities, the regulatory notice designates the margin rules of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as rules deemed as equivalent to the corresponding rules of Japan, in addition to the margin rules of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI Canada) which were designated pertaining to the regulatory notice promulgated on October 21, 2016. The regulatory notice will be enforced on September 1, 2017.

August 23, 2017:

Establishment of the “Council of Experts on Transitional Measures for Small-Claims and Short-Term Insurance Businesses Operators” < Summary> The FSA established the “Council of Experts on Transitional Measures for Small-Claims and Short-Term Insurance Businesses Operators” to discuss on transitional measures for small-claims and short-term insurance businesses operators pertaining to insurance underwriting caps. The FSA will hold the first meeting of the council on September 1, 2017.