Financial Services AgencyFSA Weekly Review No.511

October 27, 2022

What’s New on the FSA Website

Week of October 14, 2022 - October 20, 2022

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

Press Conferences

October 19, 2022 Press Conference by the Minister of State for Financial Services (September 26, 2022)
October 19, 2022 Press Conference by the Minister of State for Financial Services (September 2, 2022) 

Public Comments

October 19, 2022 Publication of the finalized "Cabinet Office Order to Amend the Regulation for Enforcement of the Act on Engagement in Trust Business, etc. by Financial Institutions" and other relevant and applicable Cabinet Office Orders, alongside the finalized amendments to the "Comprehensive Guidelines for Supervision of Trust Companies, etc." (provisional English title) after public consultation
<Summary>
The FSA published the finalized "Cabinet Office Order to Amend the Regulation for Enforcement of the Act on Engagement in Trust Business, etc. by Financial Institutions" and other relevant and applicable Cabinet Office Orders, alongside the finalized amendments to the "Comprehensive Guidelines for Supervision of Trust Companies, etc." (provisional English title) after public consultation.
The finalized Cabinet Officer Order and other relevant and applicable Cabinet Office Orders allow trust banks to provide crypto-assets (virtual currencies) custody services, which are currently not allowed for trust banks and which fall under the category of custodial trust business, subject to completion of the approval process for modifications to business operations by filing the Operational Method Statement anew. The finalized amendments to the Comprehensive Guidelines expressly set forth supervisory focal points in conjunction with the change allowing trust banks to provide crypto-assets custody services as explained above.
 
The finalized Cabinet Office Order and other relevant and applicable finalized Cabinet Office Orders were enforced on October 20, 2022, whereby the finalized amendments to the Comprehensive Guidelines took effect on the same date.

The original press release is available in Japanese at the following URL.
https://www.fsa.go.jp/news/r4/ginkou/20221019/20221019.htmlopen new window

Press Releases

Councils

October 26, 2022 The second meeting of the Working Group on Corporate Disclosure of the Financial System Council

Banks

October 19, 2022 Updated "FAQ on Capital Adequacy Regulation" to clarify the prudential treatment of crypto-asset exposures
<Summary>
The FSA clarified an interim prudential treatment of crypto-asset exposures by updating "FAQ on Capital Adequacy Regulation" and other relevant FAQs.
Given that the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision is considering the prudential treatment of crypto-asset exposures, the FSA will update this interim treatment to reflect the conclusion of an international agreement.

The original press release is available in Japanese at the following URL.
https://www.fsa.go.jp/news/r4/ginkou/20221019-2/20221019.htmlopen new window

Others

October 19, 2022 Publication of the main issues raised by the FSA at opinion exchange meetings with relevant associations in the financial sector 
<Summary>
The FSA has published the main issues raised by the FSA at opinion exchange meetings [cf. Note 1] held with relevant associations in the financial sector in September 2022. (Available only in Japanese).
 

Common topics across the groups were:

- Publication of "The JFSA Strategic Priorities July 2022-June 2023" (meeting topics mainly pertain to the outline of the JFSA Strategic Priorities, sustainable finance, and other key topics)

- Monitoring policy across the financial sector and other relevant sectors

- Enhancement and promotion of AML/CFT measures, and so forth 

Notable issues discussed by most but not all groups were:

- Financial institutions' treatment of carbon credit transactions and other relevant transactions

- Commencement of individual registration for REVICareer*

- Publication of the list of financial institutions satisfying the certain fill-in requirements of the designated reporting format pertaining to the status of their initiatives and efforts that have been taken so far and are to be taken based on the "Principles for Customer-Oriented Business Conduct" (as of the end of June 2022)

- Publication of the FSA's FY 2023 request for tax revisions 

 

* REVICareer is designed to match employees of major companies seeking to work for regional companies with regional financial institutions that have identified the need to hire management personnel from small and medium-sized companies. "REVICareer" now has a registration web-form for individual employees and officers of major companies.

 

[Note 1]: To enhance the transparency of its administration and to share its awareness of issues in the financial sector in a timely manner, the FSA publishes every month the main issues raised by the FSA at opinion exchange meetings with the relevant associations [cf. Note 2] in the financial sector. Opinion exchange meetings are held with the respective associations on a regular basis.

[Note 2]: In September 2022, opinion exchange meetings were held respectively with eight groups: major banks, etc.; the Regional Banks Association of Japan and the Second Association of Regional Banks; Community Bank Shinyo Kumiai (National Central Society of Credit Cooperatives); the Life Insurance Association of Japan; the General Insurance Association of Japan; the Japan Securities Dealers Association (JSDA); the Trust Companies Association of Japan; and the Labor Banks sector.


The original press release is available in Japanese at the following URL.
https://www.fsa.go.jp/common/ronten/index.htmlopen new window
October 18, 2022 Seventeenth Meeting of the "Council for Cooperation on Financial Stability"
October 14, 2022 Release of “Pilot Scenario Analysis Exercise on Climate-Related Risks Based on Common Scenarios”
October 14, 2022 Warning against cyber-attacks targeting crypto-asset (virtual currency) exchange service providers by a hacking group called Lazarus, which is allegedly a subordinate organization of the North Korean agencies

<Summary>
The FSA, the National Police Agency, and the National center of Incident readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity (NISC) jointly issued a warning against cyber-attacks targeting crypto-asset (virtual currency) exchange service providers by a hacking group called Lazarus,* which is allegedly a subordinate organization of the North Korean agencies.
.
Individuals and business operators involved in crypto-asset transactions are alerted to be aware of organized cyber-attacks targeting crypto assets, and to take appropriate security measures with reference to the examples of risk reduction measures prescribed in the PDFjoint statement (available only in Japanese)open new window published by the said authorities. The joint statement urges crypto-asset (virtual currency) exchange service providers to promptly provide information to the competent ministries and agencies, the police, and/or the NISC whenever any sign of fraudulence is detected.
 

* This hacking group sends phishing emails to employees posing as executives of the target company, approaches employees of the target company through social networking sites with false accounts, pretending to engage in business with the group. It has been confirmed that the group uses social engineering, in which malware is downloaded and used as leverage to gain access to the victim's network. The group has been allegedly involved in unauthorized thefts of crypto-assets by compromising computer networks associated with their target companies through a variety of other means.


The original press release is available in Japanese at the following URL.
https://www.fsa.go.jp/news/r4/sonota/20221014/20221014.htmlopen new window

Site Map

top of page