Over the last few months, we have witnessed a flurry of insider trading allegations and convictions. One of the most recent came on January 11, when US attorneys announced the guilty pleas of former Goldman Sachs and Blackstone Group employee Anthony Viggiano, who admitted to tipping off close friends about a series of large deals, including a $2.2bn investment by the private-equity group into insurer AIG.

Block trading, whereby an investment bank privately trades a large batch of shares of a given company, has not been immune to criticism over recent decades. Much of the negativity surrounding block trading is routed in its inherent lack of transparency, which leaves the practice open to an elevated risk of insider trading and market abuse....

By now you are of course well aware of the phrase ‘greenwashing’, but beware: there is a new term in town. Last month, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission Gary Gensler publicly warned businesses against ‘AI washing’, whereby firms make false claims over their use of artificial intelligence in much the same way others have over their unfounded sustainability assertions. The warning comes after the Federal Trade Commission in February cautioned companies that it would be on the lookout for bogus AI claims.

While many of us will be making tough lifestyle changes this January, from adopting strict fitness regimes to cutting down on calories, there are other changes afoot in the realm of WhatsApp that could impact many of us over the coming days. For regulatory compliance teams at financial institutions worldwide, these could spell an unhappy start to the new year if precautions are not taken.