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Deutsche WertpapierService Bank AG (dwpbank), провідний німецький постачальник послуг з цінних паперів, провів успішний запуск платформи «wpNex» для цифрових активів, а також провів пілотні транзакції з криптоактивами для роздрібних клієнтів. Source:https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/valantic-fsa-partners-with-dwpbank-on-digital-assets-platform-launch/ Платформа, розроблена спільно з Valantic FSA, забезпечує основну технологію автоматизації та інтеграції. Запуск wpNex дозволяє 1200 банкам і ощадним банкам у Німеччині розвивати можливості торгівлі цифровими активами для себе та своїх клієнтів. Першим компонентом платформи wpNex є пропозиція для торгівлі криптовалютами. wpNex буде поступово розширюватися, щоб банки та ощадні...

On April 1, Ukraine introduced a new law on e-residency, which allows foreigners, in particular IT specialists, to become entrepreneurs in Ukraine and pay taxes to the state budget. Source:https://thedigital.gov.ua/news/pershi-v-skhidniy-evropi-v-ukraini-pochav-diyati-zakon-pro-e-rezidentstvo-shcho-dozvolit-inozemtsyam-vesti-biznes-ta-splachuvati-podatki-onlayn News were announced by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, in cooperation with the National Bank of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine and the State Tax Service, are working on a regulatory framework that will allow the project to be launched at full capacity. The government also approved a service that will allow foreigners to apply for e-resident status. After successful testing, the government plans to attract about 1,000 e-residents and obtain permission from the National Bank of Ukraine, which will allow the project to be fully launched. It is possible for e-residents to transfer funds to their own account abroad in foreign currency. A nice bonus of the...

On March 20, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine supported in the second reading and in general the draft Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine on the Implementation of the International Standard for the Automatic Exchange of Information on Financial Accounts" Source:https://itd.rada.gov.ua/billInfo/Bills/CardByRn?regNum=8131&conv=9 The draft law is designed to ensure that Ukraine implements the OECD-approved General Standard on Reporting and Due Diligence on Financial Accounts. The implementation of the CRS Standard into national legislation is a prerequisite for Ukraine's accession to the international system of information exchange under the Multilateral Agreement of Competent Authorities on the Automatic Exchange of Information on Financial Accounts, which Ukraine, represented by the State Tax Service, joined in August 2022. In particular, the main provisions of the draft law establish the functions and rights of regulatory authorities to ensure that the information required for the exchange is obtained in accordance with the CRS Standard requirements for financial agents to apply the rules of the CRS Standard when conducting due diligence on...

Swiss banking giant UBS has bought the struggling Credit Suisse bank for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.24 billion). Source:https://www.ubs.com/global/en/media/display-page-ndp/en-20230319-tree.html The deal was approved by the Swiss government, which provided guarantees to the country's regulator to provide liquidity to Credit Suisse. "The Federal Council supports the acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS. In order to strengthen the stability of the financial markets prior to the acquisition, the Swiss Confederation is providing a guarantee to the Swiss National Bank to provide Credit Suisse with additional liquidity assistance," the government said. The government also provided the bank with CHF 9 billion to mitigate the risks associated with the acquisition. Credit Suisse has become the latest and most important victim of the crisis of confidence, which has already led to the bankruptcy of two medium-sized US banks and the emergency damage to the industry of another. In addition, Switzerland's second largest lender was considered one of the 30 largest banks in the world, so the Swiss authorities hastily implemented this takeover. The main factor in the crisis was the sharp rise...

The European Central Bank raised all three key interest rates by 50 basis points on Thursday, 16 March. The base interest rate on loans was increased to 3.5%, the deposit rate to 3%, and the margin loan rate to 3.75%. According to the ECB website, this is the highest level of rates since the global financial crisis of 2008. Earlier, it was expected that inflation in the euro area would remain "too high" and average 5.3% this year, 2.9% in 2024 and 2.1% in 2025. At the same time, the ECB stressed that these forecasts were made before the current market turmoil. "The Governing Council of the ECB is closely monitoring the current market tensions and is ready to take the necessary measures to ensure price and financial stability in the euro area. The European banking sector is resilient, with strong capital adequacy and liquidity ratios," the regulator said. According to Reuters, on Thursday morning, after several days of market turmoil, financial investors considered a 50% chance of a smaller move by the ECB - by only 25 basis points. Eurozone bank stocks have been tumbling this week, spooked first by the collapse of SVB and Signature Bank, and then by the plunge in the value of...

Silicon Valley Bank, the largest lender to startups, has "burst" in the U.S. The bankruptcy of the financial institution greatly affected global markets, and entrepreneurs could lose billions of dollars, writes The New York Times. Source:https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/10/business/silicon-valley-bank-stock.html Based in Santa Clara, California, the bank was founded in 1983 and was immediately involved in the tech ecosystem, providing banking services to nearly half of all venture-backed tech companies in the United States. Silicon Valley Bank was the bank of choice for more than 2,500 venture capital firms. By the end of 2022, Silicon Valley Bank had about 209 billion assets and more than $175 billion in total deposits. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took control of Silicon Valley Bank's $175 billion in customer deposits on March 10. Deposits up to $250,000 were insured by the FDIC, but customers were not told when they would be given access to the money. Billionaire Elon Musk has now said he is willing to consider options to buy Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), whose bankruptcy was the largest in the U.S. since the 2008...

Lithuania's fintech sector defied the global investment downturn in 2022, recording an 80% increase in revenue. Source:https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/41902/lithuanian-fintech-sector-defies-global-downturn The country, which has nurtured a position as a fintech hub, scored an 80% increase in the income generated from all licensed Lithuanian fintechs’ banking activities in H1 2022 over the same period in 2021, reaching €375 million. This was up 26 times on the first half of 2018, with the top ten highest-growth fintechs posting increases in revenue of more than 100%. The report reveals that 263 fintech companies are now domiciled in Lithuania employing 7 000 people - a 19% increase over 2021. Lithuanian regulators have taken a proactive approach to making the country the largest fintech hub in the EU by licences issued. The government is set to continue its push, with the Ministry of Finance finalising its “National Fintech Guidelines for 2023-2028”, which will set the strategic direction for the sector’s growth for the next five years. The government has also dedicated €80 million for an extensive three-year national upskilling and reskilling programme,...

At the end of 2022, Law No. 2571-IX entered into force, which amended the legislation on the submission of information on the final beneficial owners (BPOs) of legal entities. Interestingly, there is an opportunity to submit information about the UBO and the ownership structure in electronic form, and about the main changes below: 1. Changes in the terms of submission of information about UBO The law stipulates that the Ministry of Finance will develop a Methodology for determining the UBO of a legal entity and, accordingly, legal entities will be obliged to disclose or submit corrected information about the beneficiary within six months from the date of approval of the Methodology, but not earlier than three months (90 days) from the date termination of martial law in Ukraine. 2. The requirement for annual reporting on the UBO has been cancelled The law retained the obligation to maintain up-to-date information on the UBO and the ownership structure of a legal entity, but canceled the requirement to annually submit information on the beneficiary and the ownership structure. Therefore, the message will need to be sent in the following cases: within 30 working days from...