Hong Kong and China were designated as jurisdictions where the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is incapable of full inspections or investigations.
The SEC took a number of actions to address substituted compliance determinations for security-based swap dealers, including (i) amending orders previously granted covering Germany, France and the United Kingdom, and (ii) adopting an additional determination for Spain.
The SEC issued an Order specifying the conditions that a non-U.S. security-based swap dealer relying on substituted compliance must satisfy when filing certain financial reports.
The SEC and the European Central Bank entered into a Memorandum of Understanding, setting forth the terms for consultation, cooperation and the exchange of information between the regulators in the oversight of certain security-based swap dealers.
The U.S. Departments of State, Treasury, Commerce and Homeland Security advised U.S. companies on the increasing risks associated with operations in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.
Treasury reported that it "has not identified any foreign financial institution that has knowingly conducted a significant transaction" with previously identified sanctioned foreign persons pursuant to the Hong Kong Autonomy Act.
The SEC issued a final substituted compliance order for security-based swap dealers regulated by German authorities and a proposed substituted compliance order for SBSDs regulated by French authorities.
SEC and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board officials decried the continuing limitations on the PCAOB's ability to inspect the audit work and practices of PCAOB-registered audit firms in China.
