South Korea’s top financial regulator has released a set of revised anti-money laundering (AML) guidelines for virtual currencies, according to a press release published this week. The press release notes that the Financial Services Commission (FSC) conducted on-site inspections of three domestic banks - Nonghyup, Kookmin, and Hana Bank - the results of which prompted the update to AML guidelines. The new guidelines note that cryptocurrency exchanges must conduct Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and Enhanced Customer Identification (EDD) to ensure the trade purposes and funding sources of users are legitimate. If a business refuses or is unable to provide information …

A state university in Russia has announced that it will store diploma records using blockchain technology, the institution announced in an official statement June 26. According to the statement and a tweet from the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, the institution has recorded “all diplomas issued over the past ten years” using distributed ledger technology. The reported goal of the move is so that starting September 2018, potential employers will be able to check the authenticity of any digital diplomas on the university’s website. According to the statement, all diplomas have acquired unique identificators encrypted with …

On June 18, Carlos Torres, CEO of Spanish bank BBVA, declared that blockchain is “not mature” and faces major challenges. During the past month, blockchain’s effectiveness and maturity were also questioned by players as big as the Bank of Canada (BoC), the Russian Central Bank, and DNB, the Central Bank of the Netherlands. While blockchain can indeed improve the effectiveness of cross-border payments and cut the costs by eliminating the middleman, it hasn’t yet proven itself as a tool ready for industrial-scale use. What’s more important is that some of the banks might not be happy to give up those …

The CEO of Swiss financial services provider UBS Group Sergio Ermotti said that blockchain will be essential for the financial services industry in an interview with CNBC June 18. Ermotti said that the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies will allow “[the] freeing up of resources to become more efficient,” adding that “[it] is a great way to allow us to… reduce costs.” He stated that blockchain will prove to be transformative to the industry’s cost base in five to ten years’ time, adding that prioritizing the application of blockchain technology will ensure that UBS remains competitive: "Our industry will continue to …

A new organization called the Capital Markets and Technology Association (CMTA) has been formed in Switzerland in order to facilitate the use of blockchain technology in financial markets, according to a press release published June 12. The CMTA was established in Geneva by Swiss leader in online banking Swissquote, market software provider Temenos, and the country’s largest law firm Lenz & Staehelin. According to the press release, the CMTA will focus on creating open standards and toolkits that can be employed by various types of companies to raise capital by applying new technologies and digitalization. Jacques Iffland, CMTA's chair, and …

A group of South Korean commercial banks will launch a blockchain-powered customer ID verification platform in July 2018, local news outlet Korea JoongAng Daily reports today, June 12. According the report, the Korea Federation of Banks (KFB) will launch their “BankSign” identity verification system to be used in both online computer-based and mobile banking. According to Korea JoongAng Daily, the move is intended to replace the 20-year old public verification system that is reportedly notorious for its complexity and inefficiency. Park Chang-ok, a manager at the department of deposit services and payment systems at KFB, explained that banks’ new blockchain …

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued guidance for banks on how to handle the risks associated with “crypto assets”, according to a letter posted on the FCA’s website June 11. Per the statement issued by Executive Directors of Supervision Jonathan Davidson and Megan Butler, banks should apply a highly individual approach to clients dealing with crypto assets since “the risk associated with different business relationships in a single broad category can vary.” The statement continues: “Following a risk-based approach does not mean banks should approach all clients operating in these activities in the same way. Instead, we expect …

A branch of the Dutch government has recently released an economic risk report, claiming that cryptocurrencies present a low risk to financial stability in the country, according to a report published on May 29. The CPB states in the report that at the current time, cryptocurrencies pose a low risk to the financial system due to the low level of capitalization, as well as the limited involvement of traditional financial institutions and systems. The CPB separately noted the problems associated with crypto’s use in crime financing, fraud, high crypto market volatility, and the energy consumption of crypto mining. The report …

German bank Commerzbank and steel company Thyssenkrupp have completed a €500,000 pilot transaction of a forex (FX) forward on a blockchain, reported Cointelegraph auf Deutsch May 24. The EUR/PLN forward deal worth €500,000 with a one month tenor was initiated by Thyssenkrupp on the Commerzbank's FX Live Trader platform on Wednesday. The transaction was then confirmed directly through Corda, a distributed ledger technology (DLT) of the R3 blockchain consortium. The use of blockchain technology, which underpins the Bitcoin virtual currency, could help reduce delays and manual errors, as well as "significantly reduce operational risks in foreign exchange transactions", according to …

One of the largest financial supervisors in Europe met with the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) and other members of the finance sector to discuss cryptocurrency regulation, according to a post on the NBG’s site May 18. According to the post, a representative from Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) met with members of the NBG, the international financial institutions (IFI), private sector, commercial banks, brokers, audit, and legal companies to increase awareness of crypto in the country. At the meeting, the participants had a chance to receive detailed information on the crypto industry from the leading financial supervisory authority …

Seven of India’s largest banks have joined a Blockchain-powered trade finance initiative led by Indian IT giant InfoSys, a press release announced May 16. The collective, known as India Trade Connect, includes institutions such as Axis Bank, ICICI and South Indian Bank. It was reportedly formed to conduct testing of InfoSys’ Finacle Trade Connect, a blockchain platform designed to “address the trade finance process requirements of banks.” Finance Trade Connect meanwhile already contains its fair share of bullish sentiment from participants. “We believe, this will enable automation, increase transparency as well as enhance efficiency across trade and supply chain operations,” …

Leading global asset management company Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) has announced that audit firms can now access fund data stored on a private equity Blockchain to audit specific events in real time, according to a March 19 press release. Northern Trust launched the first commercial implementation of Blockchain technology for private equity on Feb. 21, which allowed a limited number of clients to manage ownership shares on a transparent Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform. Now audit firms can have their own Blockchain node, managing access to relevant fund data that enables real-time audit capabilities, says Northern Trust. The most recent …