FinTech Report 2019

FinTech Report 2019 – the year of Open and Digital Banking, the boom of Regulatory Implementations and not forgetting when Cybersecurity becomes reality even for lawyers.

We have the pleasure to present yet another issue of Setterwalls’ FinTech Report in which members of the Setterwalls FinTech team comment on hot topics in relation to the sector.

As we now can see, the FinTech sector is here to stay at an accelerated pace, regardless of the never-ending challenges in respect of regulatory requirements (to keep up with and understand, implement and to apply in reality), which affect all stakeholders i.e. not only those who are looking to enter the market but also those, i.e. Institutions, who’ve been around for ever.

Not only have we seen consolidation taking place and transactions/investments increasing in value/size, but also new regulations and guidelines, plus Cybersecurity and PSD2 things that we are all talking about these days but also need to understand and apply in practise in our day-to-day work. This has not been easy for anyone and is indeed a challenge for the future. Thus, even though we see the sector mature and a significant reduction in barriers to entry, and explosive growth in customers’ digital demands and expectations, we ought to make the endless new impending regulations more transparent and understandable for everyone in the sector.

In light of this, this time our FinTech Report has focused more on the regulatory side of things and as a start we hope you enjoy the article on The European Banking Authorities (EBA) Guidelines for outsourcing – an ABC handbook for financial institutions to secure their actions and considerations.  In addition, we will soon publish the articles ”Cybersecurity and an over look of the Swedish (legal) landscape” and ”Are virtual currencies going mainstream – what are the legal implications from a Swedish perspective?” on our homepage. Stay tuned!

Last but not least, we want to give you a heads up to save the date to our next Setterwalls FinTech Forum on 14 November 2019, Sturegatan 10, in Stockholm.

We hope you enjoy the Setterwalls FinTech Report and we look forward to seeing you at the Setterwalls FinTech Forum this fall.

Yours sincerely,
Joacim Johannesson, partner, and Head of Setterwalls’ FinTech team

The European Banking Authorities (EBA) Guidelines for outsourcing – an ABC handbook for financial institutions to secure their actions and considerations
In an ever more digitalized and fast-moving world, time to market, cost efficiencies and access to new technology can be achieved by outsourcing to third party suppliers. However, for companies operating in regulated domains there can be specific requirements that need to be complied with. For credit institutions and investment firms, there have already existed requirements relating to outsourcing arrangements for quite some time. On 25 February 2019, the European Banking Authority (“EBA”) published its revised Guidelines on outsourcing arrangements (”Guidelines”). The Guidelines come into force on 30 September 2019, and will replace the CEBS Guidelines on outsourcing from 2006 and the EBA Recommendations on outsourcing to cloud service providers from 2017 – the cloud recommendations being integrated into the new Guidelines. Read more

The Facebook Libra blockchain: Are cryptocurrencies going mainstream and what are the main legal challenges from a Swedish perspective?
In June 2019 Facebook and several well-known companies announced that it planned to launch a blockchain cryptocurrency: Libra. The news of Libra spread immediately among cryptocurrency enthusiasts and even made first page news among some of the world’s major news outlets: Has Facebook brought the cryptocurrency market, known for its volatility and black market association, to the doorstep of the broad masses? Is a major disruption of payment services markets underway? Read more