August 2016 - Choras Corp

CHORAS MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
THISISSUE
Rio Robberies .................. P1
Canadian Housing
Economy ......................... P2
Why is Brexit a
Big Deal? ........................ P2
The Basics of
Compliance ..................... P3
Why Are Banks Giving
MSBs the Boot? .............. P4
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Rio Robberies
As if the Rio Games needs anymore bad press than they have already had, theft has
now been added to the list of growing complaints!
Rio has been under scrutiny since before the games even started and it has not gotten
any better. With concerns ranging from a budget that is going to put the country, who is
already in a steep recession, into a $1.6B overrun, the water quality in the aquatic sport
venues, terrible traffic, low ticket sales, zika, and even the quality of the athlete lodging
the latest news of rampant theft is not helping to paint a pretty picture for Rio and their
Olympic organizers. Guests to the country have had to extend caution far beyond the
streets with athletes and officials being robbed right out of their housing complexes.
Some of the instances that have made press thus far:
A News Corp photographer had $40K worth of camera gear stolen in middle of a café in
the broad daylight. This was part of a three-person theft ring that seems to be making
its way around the country.
Danish athletes have had problems in 36 of their apartments, lodged 150 complaints
and have had items from iPad’s and phones all the way down to even their bedsheets
stolen.
The Australian team has had laptops and team shirts stolen and even worse their
rowing coaches were robbed at knife point.
Greek officials have had $11k in electronic equipment stolen.
A Chinese hurdler was the subject of a bizarre and rather disturbing incident where they
were vomited on before being robbed.
Team Russia has reported the theft of three laptops and a computer
Amidst all of this disturbing news this is still one of the most exciting times for athletes
and spectators alike! With so many countries coming together to challenge each other
in friendly and revel in the sportsmanship and comradery that pours out during the
games we hope that this experience does not become tarnished for those who have
spent countless days and hours preparing for the greatest competition they may ever
compete in.
Our final thought on the Rio 2016 Olympic games, GO CANADA GO!
image source: http://assets2.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/bolt_usain1280-1-1040x572.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=5wk-lki76R0
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Helping you navigate your financial future
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Canadian Housing Economy
With Canada’s big banks preparing to release their third
quarter earnings our housing market is once again at the
forefront of many economic conversations being heard
all over the globe. It is very well known that Canadian
real estate has been on fire over the last while very much
favouring sellers who are seeing final numbers often far
over their initial asking price. Conservative buyers are
having a lot of trouble closing deals on desired properties
as so many of these sales are going into bidding wars.
Despite all of this, what seems to really be on people’s
minds is when it’s all going to come crashing down.
Everybody knows these booms don’t last forever and
speculation is stating that it may be nearing its end. As
the 15% foreign buyer tax comes into effect in Vancouver,
Peter Routledge, financial services analyst at National
Bank Financial argues “the immediate risk of a housing
correction remains confined to Vancouver” but B.C.’s 15
per cent foreign buyer tax could result in the re-routing of
foreign capital to Toronto. “What could happen is some
of the foreign money that was going into Vancouver could
come over and actually fuel house price appreciation in
Toronto,” he goes on to say. Reports have indicated that in
the weeks before the foreign buyer’s tax was implemented
there was a surge in the number of deals being closed in
the Vancouver area, which Routledge says is an indication
that there could be far less activity now that the tax is in
effect.
The article further states that a disturbance of the housing
market could result in loan losses outside of mortgage
lending, but rather from unsecured household debt.
Do You Know Why Brexit is a Big Deal?
So, the question remains, when will this bubble burst?
And, will it be felt evenly throughout the country or will our
friends to the West take the brunt of the inevitable pop?
To read more about this topic, see:
http://www.bnn.ca/how-canada-s-hot-housing-marketscould-impact-the-country-s-big-banks-1.542102
image source: https://img.businessoffashion.com/1024/573/magic/site/uploads/2016/05/brexit_A.jpg
It seems over the last couple of weeks everywhere that
we turned we could hear the simple word. Brexit! But
what does it all mean and why is it a big deal? Brexit
has caused a numerous amount of uncertainty over
what will happen when the UK leaves the EU, because
it may mean new trade agreements with the rest of the
world. However, the division of the UK from the European
Union may be terrible for America, especially in the
export sector. The export sector played a huge role in
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As home prices begin to fall consumers stop spending
money, as wallets get tighter the economy shrinks and
then inevitably so do employment opportunities.
the economic recovery in 2008 and now suffers from the
lifeless sales growth in Europe. But the problem gets
worse, specifically with both the pound and euro falling
against the dollar. The EU operated as an internal market
to allow free movement of goods, services, capital and
people between countries part of the EU. With Britain’s
exit from EU, it will be more difficult to declare any
American agendas around trade, digital privacy, global
tax reform and more within Europe.
continued >>>
Helping you navigate your financial future
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The Basics of Compliance
With all the new rules and regulations that seem to come
out everyday regarding compliance, sometimes it can be
difficult to understand what the requirements are for your
business. Below are some key steps on how to achieve
the basics of compliance within your company:
Awareness
Companies constantly need to find methods to retain
updates of new or changed regulations. A way to
accomplish this task is by assigning an employee to keep
an eye out for the new developments and deadlines.
It is important that it is someone who understands the
complex rules in order for them to perform precise risk
taking.
Communication
This is key in any organization. Every business should
setup a standard from upper management about their
expectations, policies and procedures that all employees
must practice daily. Developing these high values of
expectations, which will soon filter throughout the
organization.
Education
It is important to have all employees to go through a
training process on the company’s internal policies and
external regulations provided by FINTRAC and PCMLTFA.
It is recommended to test new hires to ensure they
successfully completed training. In addition, employees
should receive a periodic training on FINTRAC and
PCMLTFA principles to understand their responsibilities
and accuracy with the written compliance materials. This
helps confirm the effectiveness of the rules and regulations
being implemented in order to protect the business.
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Effective Technology
There is no one-way to teach compliance. We must
understand that not everyone picks up knowledge in
the same way. Thus, it would be helpful, if the training
policy created is customizable, to cater to the learning
style of each individual. For example, e-learning provides
interaction using cases, videos, games and quiz
questions.
Incentives
Planting a seed in the employee’s mind about potential
professional opportunities within the company, motivates
them to work harder towards learning more about
compliance knowledge. It displays that they are committed
to the compliance regime and wants to see the company
continue to grow.
Incident Reporting and Case Management
Keeping track and recording the deficiencies incidents that
occur in the company is essential. Being aware of noncompliance is as important as mitigating risks. It shows
that you are attentive and focused on who and what
transactions are being processed within the company.
Implementing these six basics will help establish a
positive and rewarding compliance department within your
company.
To learn more visit the Thomson Reuters website.
Helping you navigate your financial future
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Why Are Banks Booting Out
Money Service Businesses?
It seems like everywhere that you turn as a Money
Service Business owner, more and more doors are being
slammed in your face. It’s not simple owning an MSB
or operating one. The reason for that? Banking. It has
become increasingly difficult for MSB owners to find
and operate a bank account, with more and more banks
closing the door on these small financial companies.
The reason they claim for their practise? Increasingly
stringent anti-money laundering regulations. In an article
published in the Financial Post, it stated that “In a letter
sent to Jeremy Rudin, the head of Canada’s Office of the
Superintendent of Financial Institutions, the Canadian
Money Service Business Association says members have
had their bank accounts closed in what appears to be
a sector-wide “sweep,” even though they are compliant
with all anti-money laundering rules. The group says
cutting off access to basic banking services is making
it difficult for the businesses to remain viable and offer
transaction fees that are often lower than those charged
by traditional banks”. It is not just small new businesses
that are seeing their ties being cut by major banks, it is
also MSBs that have been in operation for years. “Rick
Roth, a spokesperson for Scotia, said the bank recently
reviewed the global money service businesses industry
and adopted a new set of guidelines for opening and
maintaining accounts in the segment to ensure the bank
remains in line with its risk management practices. The
overhaul included ‘exiting some relationships and closing
accounts,’ he said”.
What is interesting is FINTRAC’s stance on this whole
situation. “Fintrac spokesman Darren Gibb said his
agency encourages ‘financial inclusion.’ However, each
bank ‘has to determine what’s acceptable for their
business,’ he said”. So, if FINTRAC is not actually causing
banks to cut off ties with MSBs and their owners and is
actually promoting financial inclusion, is it really fair for
banks to state that the reason that they are cutting off
business relationships is because of stricter regulations,
when the main auditing body is actually promoting
inclusion?
To read more about this important topic, see the following
link:
http://www.financialpost.com/m/wp/news/blog.
html?b=business.financialpost.com/news/fp-street/
sector-wide-sweep-money-service-firms-say-banks-aregiving-them-the-boot&pubdate=2016-07-22
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