On April 12, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published amended directions, dated April 11, on notifications regarding the temporary permissions regime (TPR). Although the deadline for Brexit has been agreed upon by the United Kingdom and the 27 remaining EU member states as being no later than October 31, the amended directions extend the… Continue Reading
On April 17, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published issue 59 of its Market Watch newsletter. In this issue, the FCA details its findings on the implementation of the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR).… Continue Reading
On March 29, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a press release announcing that it has signed two updated memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Both MOUs aim to ensure the continued ability of the United Kingdom and the United States to cooperate and consult with each other regarding the… Continue Reading
On March 29, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a press release announcing that it had published its final instruments and guidance that will apply if the United Kingdom withdraws from the European Union without a deal or an implementation period (No-Deal Brexit).… Continue Reading
On March 29, the European Securities and Markets Association (ESMA) published an updated version of its questions and answers document (Q&As) on the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). ESMA last updated the Q&As on November 12, 2018 (as reported in the November 16, 2018 edition of the Corporate & Financial Weekly Digest).… Continue Reading
On March 29, the European Securities and Markets Association (ESMA) published an updated version of its questions and answers document (Q&As) on the application of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). In their updated Q&As, ESMA has added the following under section VII: Q&A 6, on the treatment of short-term interest rate futures for… Continue Reading
On April 1, the European Commission (EC) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published a joint media release announcing their concurrent adoption of equivalence decision for certain trading venues in the European Union and Singapore.… Continue Reading
On April 4, two Commission Implementing Decisions (Amending Decisions) were published in the Official Journal of the European Union, amending the following December 20, 2018 equivalence decisions (Equivalence Decisions): Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/2031, on the temporary equivalence of the UK’s regulatory framework for central counterparties (CCPs); and Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/2030, on the temporary equivalence… Continue Reading
On March 21, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) Working Group on Bribery (Working Group) published its “Phase 4 Two-Year Follow-Up Report” on the United Kingdom’s implementation of the OECD anti-bribery convention. The Working Group’s report follows the written responses the United Kingdom submitted in March 2019 to the OECD’s “Phase 4” evaluation… Continue Reading
On March 25, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) updated its webpage on the temporary permissions regime (TPR) to announce that it intends to extend the notification window for European Economic Area (EEA) firms and fund managers wishing to enter the TPR to the end of April 11. On March 26, the UK Prudential Regulation… Continue Reading
On March 27, the European Securities and Markets Association (ESMA) published an updated version of its questions and answers document (Q&As) on commodity derivatives topics under the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR). The Q&As, were last updated on January 4, (as reported in the… Continue Reading
On March 28, the European Securities and Markets Association (ESMA) published a statement updating market participants on its preparations for the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, in the event of an agreement on transitional arrangements (Withdrawal Agreement) not being in place (No-Deal Brexit). ESMA’s update follows the European Council’s (EC’s) agreement to the… Continue Reading
On March 14, the House of Lords Select Committee (Select Committee) on the Bribery Act 2010 (Bribery Act) published its report, “Bribery Act 2010: post-legislative scrutiny,” to establish whether the Bribery Act is achieving its intended purposes. In its report, the Select Committee concludes that the Bribery Act is an excellent piece of legislation, creating offenses… Continue Reading
On March 14, the European Central Bank (ECB) working group on euro risk-free rates published recommendations on transitioning from the euro overnight index average (EONIA) to the euro short-term rate (€STR). The ECB’s recommendations include the following:… Continue Reading
On March 21, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) updated its public register of derivative contracts that are subject to the trading obligation under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR). ESMA’s update follows the authorization, on the same date, of additional trading venues where the classes of derivatives subject to the trading obligation… Continue Reading
On March 19, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a statement on the impact on the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) trading obligation for shares (TO) if the United Kingdom left the European Union on March 29 (Brexit) without a withdrawal agreement (no-deal Brexit) and without an equivalence decision for the United… Continue Reading
On March 19, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a press release announcing the results of the annual transparency calculations of the large in scale (LIS) and size specific to the instruments (SSTI) thresholds for bonds. ESMA’s publication had originally been planned for March 1, but was postponed as its IT systems required… Continue Reading
On March 8, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a policy statement on a new directory of financial services workers (Directory). This follows the FCA’s proposals to introduce the Directory and amend the existing financial services register (FS Register) in its consultation paper of July 2018 (as reported in the Corporate & Financial Weekly… Continue Reading
On March 8, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) hosted the first meeting of the Climate Financial Risk Forum (CFRF). A press release covering the event was published by the FCA on March 12.… Continue Reading
On February 28, the Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products (PRIIPs) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (UK Regulations) were published together with a draft explanatory memorandum. The UK Regulations were laid before Parliament on January 9, as reported in the January 11 edition of Corporate & Financial Weekly Digest. There do not appear to be… Continue Reading
On March 4, the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a document containing statements of policy on how it intends to operate the transparency regime under the retained UK version of the European Union’s Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (UK MiFIR), if the United Kingdom leaves the European Union without an implementation period. The… Continue Reading
On March 7, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a statement outlining its approach to the application of key provisions of the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) and the Benchmarks Regulation (BMR), in the event that the United Kingdom leaves the European Union without… Continue Reading
On March 1, the Council of the European Union published an “I” item note with an accompanying addendum, setting out the final compromise text of the proposed Regulation to amend the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR Refit Regulation).… Continue Reading
On March 1, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a press release relating to the annual calculation of the large in scale (LIS) and size specific to the instruments (SSTI) thresholds for bonds. In its press release, ESMA has announced that it will postpone publishing the results of the annual calculations because its… Continue Reading
