What’s New on the FSA Website

Week of October 12, 2020 - October 16, 2020

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

Press Conferences

October 13, 2020	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (September 25, 2020) Japanese version
October 13, 2020	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (September 18, 2020) Japanese version
October 13, 2020	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (September 11, 2020) Japanese version

Press Releases

(The following press releases are available in English)

International 

October 14, 2020	FSA official is appointed as the Chair of the IOSCO Committee on Issuer Accounting, Audit and Disclosure (Committee 1)

Insurance

October 16, 2020	The Advisory Council on the Economic Value-based Solvency Framework

Others

October 16, 2020	Keynote speech:Preparing for a strong post-COVID growth- by Himino Ryozo, commissioner of the JFSA, at the 2020 IIF (Institute of International Finance) Annual Membership Meeting
October 15, 2020	List of members of the Council of Experts Concerning the Follow-up of Japan’s Stewardship Code and Japan’s Corporate Governance Code
October 13, 2020	Thirteenth Meeting of the "Council for Cooperation on Financial Stability"

(The following press releases are available in Japanese)

Banks

October 14, 2020	Publication of the results of the questionnaire survey on financial institutions’ intermediary services offered to their corporate clients <Summary> The FSA published the results of the questionnaire survey on financial institutions' intermediary services offered to their corporate clients. Small- and medium-sized enterprises were subject to the questionnaire survey and response.
October 14, 2020	Publication of a report entitled "Progress Report on the Efficiency of Financial Intermediation" (provisional English title) <Summary> The FSA published a report entitled "Progress Report on the Efficiency of Financial Intermediation" (provisional English title). The report outlines key initiatives and approaches taken during program year 2019 by the FSA and the respective Local Finance Bureaus toward the enhancement of the efficiency of financial intermediation by regional financial institutions.
October 14, 2020	KPIs (key performance indicators) to objectively reflect the efficiency of financial intermediation <Summary> From the perspective of ensuring "visualization" of the efficiency of financial intermediation by financial institutions (including major banks and regional banks), the FSA published the list of KPIs (key performance indicators)* for financial institutions which reflect their respective performances in terms of the efficiency of financial intermediation. The list also contains website addresses of the respective financial institutions publicizing their initiatives taken for financial intermediation.   * On September 9, 2019, the FSA set forth the KPIs (key performance indicators) to objectively reflect the efficiency of financial intermediation. Ever since then, the FSA has required financial institutions to publish their respective KPI results on their websites in the hope that they fully commit to providing managerial support (inclusive of lending) to small and medium-sized enterprises for the improvement of their business feasibility and productivity, without overly relying on collateral and personal guarantees.

 

Securities

October 16, 2020

The first trial of an administrative penalty case against an individual who recommended selling stocks of Japan Drilling Co., Ltd.* based on insider information obtained as an employee of the entity <Summary> On October 23, 2020, the first trial of an administrative penalty case against an individual who recommended selling stocks of Japan Drilling Co., Ltd.* based on insider information obtained as an employee of the entity to a non-insider who sold the stocks based on the employee’s recommendation will be conducted. * Japan Drilling Co., Ltd. was delisted in July 2018.

 

Insurance

October 16, 2020

New one-stop access to relevant information on prudential policies, including an economic value-based solvency regulatory framework (mainly for insurance companies) <Summary> The FSA has newly added a subpage to its website to provide subscribers with one-stop access to the relevant information on prudential policies, including an economic value-based solvency regulatory framework (mainly for insurance companies). The subpage mainly shares information pertaining to the FSA's "Advisory Council on Economic Value-Based Framework,"* field test results in respect of economic value-based assessment and monitoring methodologies, and survey reports (outsourced to external parties).   * The Advisory Council was established to seek directions for the future introduction of an economic value-based solvency framework for insurance companies in Japan, while also taking into account global developments on the matter. The Advisory Council consists of academics and practitioners with relevant expertise and perspectives.

 

Others

October 14, 2020	Warning against the surge in unauthorized withdrawals from bank accounts <Summary> The FSA, the National Police Agency, the Consumer Affairs Agency, Japanese Bankers Association, and Japan Payment Service Association jointly issued a warning against unauthorized withdrawals* in response to the surge in unauthorized withdrawals (by malicious and fraudulent third parties) linked with (cashless/mobile) payment services provided by financial institutions.** While the recent series of unauthorized withdrawals are frequently reported with respect to payment services, it has also been reported that deposit account holders who use neither payment services nor internet banking services have fallen victim to unauthorized withdrawals mainly attributable to the use of stolen cash cards and personal information (including bank account numbers and PIN codes) by (malicious and fraudulent) third parties. The FSA urges people to check their bank accounts for any suspicious transactions conducted by possible malicious third parties and keep intact their personal account information, including PINs/passwords, and to report to (and/or consult with) their payment service providers (financial institutions) as well as the authorities (such as the Police and the FSA's Counseling Office for Financial Services Users) whenever any hint of fraudulence is detected. The FSA also alerts people to be aware of possible further scams taking advantage of the aforementioned incidents.   * A typical case ascertained in the recent series of unauthorized withdrawals is that malicious and fraudulent third parties sign up with certain cashless/mobile payment services linked with deposit accounts, in which they use personal deposit account information fraudulently obtained from deposit account holders, thereby making withdrawals unbeknownst to those account holders whose personal bank account information has been stolen. ** In response to those unauthorized withdrawals, financial institutions have announced policies of providing full compensation to their service users who have fallen victim to such unauthorized withdrawals.
October 12, 2020	Publication of the updated "FSA Basic Plan for Policy Evaluation" <Summary> The FSA published the updated "FSA Basic Plan for Policy Evaluation" pursuant to the "Government Policy Evaluations Act." The updates mainly pertain to technical amendments, and expressly set forth the updated planning period of the said Basic Plan based on the "Basic Guidelines for Implementing Policy Evaluation." The updated Basic Plan took effect on October 12, 2020. To ensure objectivity and improve the quality of policy evaluation, the basic plan is to be reviewed by the members of the "Expert Panel on Policy Assessment." The FSA will conduct policy evaluation appropriately pursuant to the updated basic plan, and the results will be published in due course.
October 12, 2020	Requests for financial measures to deal with disasters caused by Typhoon No14, 2020 (The Kanto Local Finance Bureau) <Summary> On October 12, 2020, the Tokyo Local Finance Office of the Kanto Local Finance Bureau and the Financial System and Bank Examination Department of the Bank of Japan issued a joint statement titled "Financial Measures to deal with disasters caused by Typhoon No. 14, 2020" to the relevant financial institutions. The statement requests financial institutions in Tokyo Islands (Tokyo Metropolis) to appropriately deal with victims of the disaster considering their circumstances, such as by making the repayment of deposits flexible.