Brexit/UK Developments

On April 28, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched a consultation paper (CP21/9), alongside HM Treasury, on changes to the conduct and organizational rules in the UK Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II): research and best execution reporting.

The consultation proposes to:
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On April 8, the Market Participants Division (MPD), Division of Clearing and Risk (DCR), Division of Data (DOD) and Division of Market Oversight (DMO) of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission jointly issued no-action relief, effective immediately, to maintain the regulatory status quo for swap dealers (SD) following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the

On March 25, the UK Government published the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (High-Risk Countries) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/392) on its website together with an explanatory memorandum (the Regulations).
Continue Reading AML: UK Government Publishes Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (High-Risk Countries) Regulations 2021

On March 26, HM Treasury published a press release announcing it had concluded technical discussions on the text of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for UK-EU regulatory cooperation in financial services (the Press Release).
Continue Reading UK Treasury Announces Technical Discussions on MoU on UK-EU Regulatory Cooperation in Financial Services

On January 22, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published an amended and restated memorandum of understanding (MoU) between itself and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in light of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

The key understandings discussed by the FCA and SEC in the MoU include:
Continue Reading FCA Publishes SEC MoU on Financial Services Supervision Post-Brexit

On January 13, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a statement reminding firms of the requirements under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) relating to the provision of investment services to retail or professional clients by firms not established or situated in the EU (the Statement).
Continue Reading ESMA Reminds Firms of MiFID II Rules on Reverse Solicitation Post-Brexit

On December 14, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its first consultation paper on the implementation of the Investment Firms Prudential Regime (IFPR) (CP20/24) with its proposal for the UK’s new regulatory capital/ prudential rules following the end of the Brexit transition period (the Consultation Paper).

The FCA intends to create a new Prudential sourcebook for Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) Investment Firms (MIFIDPRU).
Continue Reading UK Regulatory Capital/Prudential Rules: FCA Publishes First Consultation on Implementation of IFPR

On December 15, the UK’s HM Treasury published a call for evidence on the UK framework for financial services firms based overseas that are seeking to conduct activities in the UK.

The purpose of the call for evidence is to obtain information about how the existing UK rules work in practice. HM Treasury intends to use this information to develop the UK’s regulatory framework following the end of the Brexit transition period.
Continue Reading HM Treasury Call For Evidence on UK Overseas Framework and Overseas Persons Exclusion Post-Brexit

On November 16, the UK’s HM Treasury, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) jointly published a statement on the introduction of the new Investment Firms Prudential Regime (IFPR) and the UK implementation of Basel standards reflecting the CRR II Regulation (the Statement).
Continue Reading Regulatory Capital – UK Authorities Jointly Publish Statement on New UK Prudential Rules

On October 26, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a statement on the impact of the UK’s departure from the EU on December 31, relating to the requirement for EU investment firms only to trade shares on an EU trading venue, with an EU systemic internalizer or on an equivalent third-country exchange (known as the share trading obligation or STO) under Article 23 of the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) (the Statement).
Continue Reading ESMA Publishes Statement on Trading Obligation for Shares Under MiFIR After Brexit