Recent News

Swift has partnered with more than a dozen financial institutions and market infrastructures to test the use of its messaging network as a means of transferring tokenized value across a range of public and private blockchain networks. Source:https://t.me/uafic/1940 The initiative arose after last year's proof-of-concept with Chainlink for the development of a Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) that would connect Swift to multiple blockchain networks. Tom Zschach, Swift's Chief Innovation Officer, said that there is unlikely to be one dominant blockchain network: "We expect many different platforms to emerge, each of which will serve different customer segments with their own individual capabilities and requirements," he said. - In such a highly fragmented ecosystem, it simply does not make sense for financial institutions to connect to each platform separately. That's why the community is working with Swift to create an interoperability model that will provide access to different platforms on a global scale." As part of the new experiments, Swift will collaborate on a number of potential implementations with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, BNP...

The bill, which was submitted to the European Parliament in February 2022, makes large companies liable for human rights violations. The bill is similar to the German law on due diligence of supply chains, which was adopted last year and is mandatory for German companies from January 1, 2023. Source:https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/epp-launches-last-minute-attack-on-eu-corporate-due-diligence-law/ While EU governments already agreed on a common position on the case last December, the European Parliament has yet to agree on its own position before final "tripartite" negotiations can begin with the EU Commission to finalize the law. However, the problem with the European bill comes down to the debate in what form the bill is adopted. The amendment, introduced by German Conservative MEP Angelika Nibler, obliges the European Commission to convert the directive into a regulation six years after it enters into force. The difference between a directive and a regulation is that the directives must be incorporated into national law by member states, which gives them some leeway to adapt it to national conditions, while the regulation is applied...

The main difference from its neighbors in the region and from similar programs in the world is that in Uruguay there are no minimum income requirements for a nomad. All that is required is not to be a citizen of Uruguay, not to have a criminal record, to work in a foreign company or to be a freelancer. Workers in the technology industry will be completely exempt from paying taxes. The only catch is that the form fee, which is only $11, cannot be paid from a foreign bank account. In other words, you will most likely have to travel to Uruguay before applying. A visa is given for six months, but it can be extended for another 6 months, and after that you can already get a residence permit to stay in the...

The National Bank of Ukraine, in accordance with the requirements of the Law "On Currency and Foreign Exchange Transactions", has worked out the procedure for the exchange of information by authorized institutions on the hryvnia accounts of their clients or users who are non-residents. Source:https://finclub.net/ua/news/nbu-vdoskonaliuie-systemu-valiutnoho-nahliadu-za-operatsiiamy-nerezydentiv-u-hryvni.html To do this, an automated information system "Register of Non-Resident Accounts" was introduced on the Hyperledger fabric blockchain platform. According to the law on currency, a transfer of funds in hryvnia with the participation of a non-resident is a currency operation subject to currency supervision. If information about the residence of the recipient is not available, the authorized institution serving the payer cannot clearly identify whether such a transaction is a currency transaction or not. This leads to the risk that this institution will not perform the functions of an agent of foreign exchange supervision. The functioning of the Register is necessary to minimize the above risks and improve the conditions for conducting currency supervision by authorized...

Next month, HSBC plans to change the brand of the UK branch of SVB (Silicon Valley Bank) to HSBC Innovation Banking, Sky News reports. This follows the private purchase of SVB UK by HSBC in March, an agreement facilitated by the British government and the Bank of England, aimed at protecting deposits without the help of taxpayers. Source:https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/hsbc-to-rebrand-uk-division-of-silicon-valley-bank-as-hsbc-innovation-banking/ SVB Financial Group, a lender focusing on startups, has earned the unfortunate title of the biggest bank to collapse since the 2008 financial crisis. Its sharp drop in March rattled global markets, leaving billions of dollars of corporate and investor funds in suspension. Silicon Valley Bank then filed for bankruptcy after it was shut down by regulators in California, who subsequently appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as its receiver. An agreement was then reached for the regional lender to acquire First Citizens BancShares Bank Silicon Valley...

The Verkhovna Rada supported in the first reading the draft law, which is supposed to make changes to the Tax Code, including canceling the simplified taxation system for sole proprietorships - the single tax rate of 2%. Source:https://finclub.net/ua/news/rada-zrobila-krok-dlya-skasuvannya-sproshchenogo-opodatkuvannya-dlya-fopiv.html What can change from July 1: abolition of the possibility for sole proprietorships and legal entities to be taxpayers of the uniform tax of the III group with the application of the uniform tax rate of 2% of the amount of income; cancellation of the possibility for FOP payers of the single tax of groups I and II not to pay the single tax; resumption of documentary checks. The document stipulates that such checks during martial law are carried out in the presence of safe access to territories, premises and documents related to the calculation and payment of taxes and fees; resumption of the application of fines (for violation of tax legislation; correctness of accrual, calculation, and payment of ESS; procedure for using PRO/PRRO); restoration of the periods specified by the tax legislation. The draft law...

On May 26, the government approved a draft letter to the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes requesting that the date of the first automatic exchange of information on financial accounts be postponed. Source:https://finclub.net/ua/news/uriad-prosyt-vidterminuvaty-obmin-danymy-pro-finansovi-rakhunky.html "The draft letter proposes to postpone the date of the first automatic exchange of information on financial accounts for tax purposes from September 2023 to September 2024," MP Taras Melnychuk specified. In April, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law aimed at implementing by Ukraine the Common Reporting Standard and Due Diligence on Financial Accounts, approved by the OECD Council (Common Reporting Standard CRS), which provides for the annual international automatic exchange of financial account data. Earlier, the Ministry of Finance reported that the introduction of the requirements of the CRS common reporting standard into national legislation will ensure Ukraine's accession to the international system for the exchange of information with the participants of the Multilateral Agreement of Competent Authorities on the automatic...

Raiffeisen Bank International will step up steps to transfer its Russian division to shareholders. Source:https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/austrias-raiffeisen-attempts-last-ditch-russian-spin-off-sources-2023-05-23/ The Austrian group Raiffeisen Bank International, after several months of searching for a third-party buyer, was inclined to transfer the Russian "daughter" of Raiffeisen to its own shareholders. The Austrian authorities agree with such a scheme, but it may encounter obstacles from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the United States. As one of the sources explained, Washington fears that it will not be able to check the organization for money laundering. If the scheme is approved, then RBI shareholders will receive shares in a new company registered in Vienna. This company will be given the Russian business. However, it is not clear how independent it will be from the RBI, because if the degree of independence is high enough, then new business will not fall under the direct supervision of the...

On May 19, the Ministry of the Interior of Germany published a draft law that should simplify the process of submitting an application for citizenship. Thus, Berlin strives to stimulate migration and open the labor market in Europe's largest economy. Source:https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/german-cabinet-publishes-draft-legislation-new-citizenship-rules-2023-05-19/ The project offers the option of obtaining multiple citizenships and reduces the number of required years of residence before naturalization to five or three years from the previous eight. Requirements for knowledge of the German language for obtaining citizenship will also be eased. "We want people who have become part of our society to be able to help shape our country democratically," Interior Minister Nancy Feiser said in a statement, adding that examples from countries such as Canada show that this prospect was crucial to attracting qualified workers, which Germany needs. Last year, the German government agreed on plans to reform immigration legislation. Erlyn aims to open up the labor market to badly needed workers from outside the European Union to fill hundreds of thousands of vacancies in...