What’s New on the FSA Website

Week of  April 8, 2019 - April 12, 2019

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

Public Comments

(The following public comment is available in Japanese)

April 10, 2019

Publication of the finalized amendments to the “Guidelines for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism”  < Summary> The FSA finalized the amendments to the “Guidelines for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT).” The amendments further enhance financial institutions’ risk managements for AML/CFT by, among others, clarifying the customer risk assessment as a required action for financial institutions under the section of “Customer Due Diligence” of the Guidelines. The FSA will stay committed to encouraging financial institutions toward the enhancement of their risk managements for AML/CFT, in view of the assessment by the FATF (Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering). The amended Guidelines were enforced on April 10, 2019.

Press Releases

(The following press releases are available in English)

International 

April 12, 2019	The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published a consultative document, 'Consolidated Basel Framework'
April 12, 2019	The Financial Stability Board (FSB) published ’Crypto-assets regulators directory’
April 8, 2019	The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a report, 'The Application of Behavioural Insights to Retail Investor Protection'

Others

April 10, 2019	Interview on ISDA Quarterly (April 2019)
April 8, 2019	FSA hosted Interim Nominating Committee

(The following press releases are available in Japanese)

Councils

April 12, 2019	Publication of the agenda and handouts of the 21st meeting of the “Working Group on Financial Markets” of the Financial System Council  < Summary> The FSA published the agenda and handouts of the 21st meeting of the “Working Group on Financial Markets” of the Financial System Council, which was held on April 12, 2019.

Others

April 12, 2019	Publication of the minutes and handouts of the 15th and 16th meetings of the “Working Group on Improving Banks’ Financial Intermediary Services to the Regional Corporations and Economy”  < Summary> The FSA published the minutes and handouts of the15th and 16th meetings (there were no handouts for the 16th meeting) of the “Working Group on Improving Banks’ Financial Intermediary Services to the Regional Corporations and Economy,” which were held on November 13, 2018 and January 21, 2019, respectively.
April 11, 2019	Publication of the questionnaire survey results on the “Guidelines for Personal Guarantee Provided by Business Owners” by regional banks  < Summary> As part of the FSA’s initiatives to encourage financial institutions to provide loans based on proper evaluation of their customers’ business potentials without overly relying on collateral and personal guarantees, the FSA has been encouraging financial institutions to utilize the “Guidelines for Personal Guarantee Provided by Business Owners,” so that the guidelines may be widely accepted as an established practice by financial institutions. In this regard, the FSA conducted a questionnaire survey of all regional banks across the country aiming at understanding their current status on the actual usage of the Guidelines in terms of the execution of their management strategies, so that the FSA may subsequently engage in dialogues with financial institutions (including regional banks) based on the status clarified through the survey, thereby encouraging the further utilization of the Guidelines.
April 9, 2019	Publication of the agenda and handouts of the 19th meeting of the “Council of Experts Concerning the Follow-up of Japan’s Stewardship Code and Japan’s Corporate Governance Code”  < Summary> The FSA published the agenda and handouts of the 19th meeting of the “Council of Experts Concerning the Follow-up of Japan’s Stewardship Code and Japan’s Corporate Governance Code,” which was held on April 10, 2019.
April 9, 2019	Publication of an interim report of an analysis on results from an outsourced customer questionnaire on customer-oriented business approaches by financial institutions in terms of the sales of financial instruments (based on web-based questionnaire survey)  < Summary> The FSA published its interim report of an analysis on results from an outsourced customer questionnaire on customer-oriented business approaches by financial institutions in terms of the sales of financial instruments. The analysis was conducted by the FSA for the purpose of analyzing the actual conditions to see how customer-oriented business conduct, through efforts of financial institutions, are implemented in their responses to customers in everyday business operations of financial institutions as well as considered in the selection of financial institutions by customers. The questionnaire survey itself was outsourced to a research company (Macromill, Inc.) wherein questionnaires were conducted through web-based interviews and postal mails. The interim report is solely based on results from web-based questionnaire survey, which was published prior to the publication of a full report which is to be based on collective questionnaire results from both web-based interviews and postal mails.
April 8, 2019	Warnings about entities that are operating money lending businesses without proper registration  < Summary> The FSA (Local Finance Bureaus) updated warnings about entities that are operating money lending businesses without proper registration. The warnings include the updated list of entities that misrepresent their registration using fictitious or stolen registration numbers.