What’s New on the FSA Website

Weeks of August 5, 2019 - August 16, 2019

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

Press Conferences

August 7, 2019	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (July 9, 2019) Japanese version
August 7, 2019	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (July 2, 2019) Japanese version

Public Comments

(The following public comments are available in Japanese)

August 9, 2019	Publication of the draft "Cabinet Order to Amend the Order for Enforcement of the Labor Bank Act" and other relevant applicable Orders < Summary> The FSA published the draft "Cabinet Order to Amend the Order for Enforcement of the Labor Bank Act" and other relevant applicable Orders. The proposal mainly aims to reflect the updates of the large exposure rules for banks, etc.
August 7, 2019	Publication of the draft "Cabinet Office Order to Amend the Ordinance for the Enforcement of the Banking Act, etc." < Summary> The FSA published the draft "Cabinet Office Order to Amend the Ordinance for the Enforcement of the Banking Act, etc." The proposal mainly aims to reflect requests for deregulation from the financial sector including relevant trade associations.
August 7, 2019	Publication of the draft amendments to the "Comprehensive Guidelines for Supervision of Insurance Companies" < Summary> The FSA proposed the draft amendments to the "Comprehensive Guidelines for Supervision of Insurance Companies." The proposal aims at: updating points of attention regarding examination of insurance products for corporate clients to ensure that products are designed within the scope of the original purpose of insurance, and ensuring examination of insurance products and supplementary services taking into account features of the respective products and clients from the perspective of insurance policyholders' protection.

Press Releases

(The following press release is available in English)

International 

August 5, 2019	Asia Region Funds Passport issued press release that New Zealand confirmed to the Joint Committee that it has completed preparations for implementing the Asia Region Funds Passport arrangements in New Zealand

(The following press releases are available in Japanese)

Banks

August 13, 2019	Publication of an outline of the financial institutions' policies on cooperation and collaboration with electronic settlement agents < Summary> Financial institutions have prepared and published their respective policies on cooperation and collaboration with electronic settlement agents by March 1, 2018 pursuant to Article 10 (1) of the supplementary provisions of the "Act for Partial Revision of the Banking Act (Act No. 49 of 2017)" which stipulates that financial institutions shall prepare and disclose their basic policies regarding their cooperation and collaboration with electronic settlement agents within nine months from the date of promulgation of the Act (promulgation date: June 2, 2017). In this regard, on August 13, 2019, the FSA published a summary of the respective financial institutions’ current implementation status (as of the end of June, 2019) based on their respective policies on cooperation and collaboration with electronic settlement agents, particularly in terms of the API (Application Programming Interface) development.
August 8, 2019	Report on measures for the resolution of failed financial institutions < Summary> The FSA submitted to the National Diet a report on the measures for the resolution of failed financial institutions (the FRC report) pursuant to the "Act on Emergency Measures for the Revitalization of the Financial Functions." The report covers developments between October 1, 2018, and March 31, 2019.
August 7, 2019	Publication of a revised reference casebook (revised edition as of August 2019) on favorable practices taken by financial institutions and of a new reference casebook on favorable organizational practices taken by banks, for the utilization of the "Guidelines for Personal Guarantee Provided by Business Owners" (1) (2) < 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 respect, the FSA has published a revised reference casebook (revised edition as of August 2019) 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. In addition, the FSA has newly published a reference casebook that contains favorable organizational practices taken by banks mainly in terms of the development of banks' corporate structures that ensure the utilization of the Guidelines, including the establishment of operational rules/procedures for the utilization of the Guidelines.

Securities

August 9, 2019

Administrative action against Togo Securities Co., Ltd. (The Kanto Local Finance Bureau) < Summary> The Kanto Local Finance Bureau took an administrative action against Togo Securities Co., Ltd. ordering the revocation of the entity's registration and the improvement of its business operations pursuant to the “Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.” This administrative action is based on a recommendation from the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) as a result of its on-site inspection.

Others

August 14, 2019	Updated list of entities that are operating financial instruments businesses without proper registration (The Kanto Local Finance Bureau) < Summary> The FSA and the Kanto Local Finance Bureau issued a warning to an entity that is operating financial instruments businesses without proper registration. (See the updated list of foriegn-based entities).
August 9, 2019	Publication of the final report of an analysis on results from an outsourced customer questionnaire on customer-oriented business conduct by financial institutions in terms of the sales of financial instruments (based on web-based questionnaire survey and postal mails) < Summary> The FSA published its final report of an analysis on results from an outsourced customer questionnaire on customer-oriented business conduct 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 at operational level 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 questionnaire survey and postal mails. The final report is based on collective questionnaire results from both web-based questionnaire survey and postal mails, whereas the interim report published in April 2019 was solely based on results from web-based questionnaire survey.
August 9, 2019	Publication of the updated list of financial institutions signing up to the "Principles for Customer-Oriented Business Conduct" and publicizing their respective customer-oriented business conduct and KPIs (key performance indicators) (updated on August 9, 2019)  < Summary> The FSA updated the list of financial institutions signing up to the "Principles for Customer-Oriented Business Conduct" and publicizing their respective customer-oriented business conduct and KPIs (key performance indicators) inclusive of the common KPIs comparable across investment trust distributors by the end of June 2019 in order to visualize financial institutions' initiatives and efforts. The FSA also published a trend analysis report on the common comparable KPIs. The FSA aims at encouraging financial institutions to further "visualize" their customer-oriented business conduct.
August 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.
August 6, 2019	Warning against unauthorized access by external parties targeted at cashless/mobile payment service providers < Summary> In response to the recent cyber incident in which cashless/mobile payment service users suffered losses of loaded funds involving unauthorized access from external parties, the FSA issued a warning against unauthorized access by external parties targeted at cashless/mobile payment service providers, to ensure that service providers take appropriate security measures.