HFSC Advances Sanctions Bills
HFSC yesterday reported an array of Hamas-sanctions related measures, extending its reach to Iran, China, and other nations deemed to support Hamas. Bipartisan bills with some hope of advancing include measures to require Treasury to report on financial institution’s involvement with Iranian officials (H.R. 6245), mandate that OFAC develop a licensing program for private firms to conduct nominal transactions with sanctioned entities (H.R. 6370), and to expand secondary sanctions to Chinese banks financing the purchase of Iranian oil (H.R. 5923).
Basel Tackles Digital Fraud
The Basel Committee has released a discussion draft seeking views on supervisory and financial-stability implications of digital fraud. Discussion papers of this sort are often precursors to more formal standards, and this one appears to be no exception. While Basel seeks comment on broad questions such as the definition of digital fraud, it also wants views on the prevalence of digital fraud as commenters choose to define it and resulting risks.