What’s New on the FSA Website

Week of December 25, 2017 - January 5, 2018

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

Press Conferences

January 5, 2018	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (December 22, 2017) (Available in Japanese)
January 5, 2018	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (December 19, 2017) Japanese version
January 5, 2018	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (December 15, 2017) (Available in Japanese)
January 5, 2018	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (December 12, 2017) (Available in Japanese)
December 28, 2017:	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (December 8, 2017) (Available in Japanese)
December 28, 2017:	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (December 5, 2017) Japanese version
December 27, 2017:	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (December 1, 2017) (Available in Japanese)

Public Comments

(The following public comment is available in English)

January 5, 2018:	Call for comments in English on "JFSA’s supervisory approaches -Replacing checklists with engagement-"

(The following public comments are available in Japanese)

December 27, 2017:

Publication of the finalized amendments to the cabinet orders and cabinet office orders pertaining to the 2017 revision of the “Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA)” < Summary> The FSA finalized the amendments to the cabinet orders and cabinet office orders pertaining to the 2017 revision of the “Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA).” The amendments mainly provide the detailed rules on “High-Speed Trading (HST)” (where a registration system for high-speed traders is adopted) and “Fair Disclosure Rule.” The amendments will be enforced on April 1, 2018.

December 26, 2017:

Publication of the finalized amendment to the regulatory notice designating transactions and lending/borrowing to be excluded from the transactions subject to the regulations on “Financial Instruments Obligation Assumption Business” < Summary> The FSA finalized the amendment to the regulatory notice designating transactions and lending/borrowing to be excluded from the transactions subject to the regulations on “Financial Instruments Obligation Assumption Business” based on the “Order for Enforcement of the Financial Instrument and Exchange Act.” The amendment extends the applicable period (date of expiration) of the current regulatory notice from December 31, 2017 to June 30, 2018.

Press Releases

(The following press releases are available in English)

International 

December 28, 2017:	International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published "IOSCO Report on Good Practices for the Termination of Investment Funds"
December 25, 2017:	Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued a proposed technical amendment "Basel III: Treatment of extraordinary monetary policy operations in the Net Stable Funding Ratio"
December 25, 2017:	Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published a consultative document "Stress testing principles" and a report "Supervisory and bank stress testing: range of practices"
December 25, 2017:	Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published "Progress report on the implementation of principles for effective supervisory colleges"
December 25, 2017:	Asia Region Funds Passport (ARFP)

Publication

December 25, 2017:	Publication of the 173th issue of the FSA’s monthly journal, Access FSA

Others

December 27, 2017:	Updated statistics of money lending business
December 25, 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)

Banks

December 27, 2017:

Publication of a statistical report on financing by financial institutions for enterprises utilizing the “Guidelines for Personal Guarantee Provided by Business Owners” < Summary> The FSA published a statistical report on financing by financial institutions for enterprises utilizing the “Guidelines for Personal Guarantee Provided by Business Owners” as of 2017 based on the data collected from April until the end of September 2017, (in which the part regarding responses taken by financial institutions at the replacement of business owners reflects the data collected from April 2017 until the end of September 2017). The report is regularly published to further promote the utilization of the Guidelines.

December 27, 2017:

Publication of a revised reference casebook (revised edition as of December 2017) on the “Guidelines for Personal Guarantee Provided by Business Owners” < Summary> The FSA published a revised reference casebook (revised edition as of December 2017) to promote favorable practices by financial institutions in utilizing the “Guidelines for Personal Guarantee Provided by Business Owners,” in which new favorable practices taken by financial institutions were added.

Securities

January 4, 2018:	The sixth trial of an administrative penalty case against Areion Asset Management Company Limited for market manipulation of stocks of NITTO DENKO CORPORATION < Summary> On January 11, 2018, the sixth trial of an administrative penalty case against Areion Asset Management Company Limited for market manipulation of stocks of NITTO DENKO CORPORATION was conducted.

Insurance

December 26, 2017:	Authorization of the merger of AIU Insurance Company, Ltd. and The Fuji Fire and Marine Insurance Company, Ltd. < Summary> The FSA authorized the merger of AIU Insurance Company, Ltd. and The Fuji Fire and Marine Insurance Company, Ltd. pursuant to the “Insurance Business Act.”

Others

December 27, 2017:	Publication of the updated “Expert Column,” a subpage of the “NISA Official Promotion Webpage,” with a new article (vol.14) contributed by an external expert < Summary> The FSA published the updated “Expert Column,” a subpage of the “NISA Official Promotion Webpage,” with a new article (vol.14) contributed by an external expert.
December 25, 2017:	Publication of the agenda and handouts of the fourth meeting of the “Payments Council on Financial Innovation” < Summary> The FSA published the agenda and handouts of the fourth meeting of the “Payments Council on Financial Innovation,” which was held on December 20, 2017.
December 18, 2017:	Establishment of the “Council of Experts on Managing Settlement Risks of Foreign Exchange (FX) Transactions for Over-the-Counter (OTC) FX Brokers” < Summary> The over the counter (OTC) foreign exchange (FX) trading market in Japan has been expanding its annual volume to the level of approximately 5,000 trillion yen. Considering such a volume, the FSA has concerns about the OTC FX Brokers’ settlement risk because it might affect both the foreign exchange market and the financial market, posing a systemic risk. In response to this issue, the FSA decided to establish the “Council of Experts on Managing Settlement Risks of Foreign Exchange (FX) Transactions for Over-the-Counter (OTC) FX Brokers.” The Council members will include academic experts and stakeholders of the OTC FX trading market, and the FSA is to serve as the secretariat.