On January 7, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that the notification window for the temporary permissions regime (TPR) is now open. In the lead-up to the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union (Brexit) on March 29 (Exit Day), the agreement on the United Kingdom’s withdrawal (Withdrawal Agreement) has not been ratified by… Continue Reading
On January 8, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a consultation paper (CP19/2) on contractual certainty post-Brexit. In the lead-up to the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union (Brexit) on March 29 (Exit Day), the agreement on the United Kingdom’s withdrawal remains to be ratified by the UK Parliament. If ratification fails, this… Continue Reading
On January 3, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published the Securitization Regulation Implementation (Fees for Third Party Verifiers) Instrument 2019 (FCA 2019/1) and Enforcement (EU Securitization Regulation) Instrument 2019 (FCA 2019/2) (collectively, the Securitization Instruments).… Continue Reading
On December 13, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a press release advising that it has updated its webpage on “preparing your firm for Brexit.”… Continue Reading
On December 13, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published finalized guidance on financial crime systems and controls relating to insider dealing and market manipulation (FG18/5).… Continue Reading
On December 17, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published issue 58 of its Market Watch newsletter. In this issue, the FCA details its findings on a review of the implementation of the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR).… Continue Reading
On December 7, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a consultation paper on product intervention measures for retail binary options. The FCA is proposing to prohibit the sale, marketing and distribution of binary options in or from the UK to retail consumers by creating new rules in its Conduct of Business sourcebook (COBS).… Continue Reading
On December 7, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a consultation paper on restricting contract for difference (CFD) and other derivative products sold to retail consumers. In its consultation paper, the FCA is proposing to intervene in the CFD market to address allegedly poor conduct by firms offering CFD products to retail customers, and… Continue Reading
On December 4, the UK Securitization Regulations 2018 (UK Regulations) were published, together with an explanatory memorandum. The UK Regulations reflect the application of the EU Securitization Regulation in the UK. The EU Securitization Regulation harmonizes and reforms existing rules on due diligence, risk retention and disclosure for securitizations, securitizing entities and EU regulated institutional… Continue Reading
On November 5, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a speech by Nausicaa Delfas, FCA Executive Director of International, on Brexit and maintaining market confidence. The speech covers a wide range of Brexit topics and provides an overview of the FCA’s current priorities relating to Brexit, including its work to ensure there is a… Continue Reading
On October 29, the UK “Cryptoasset Taskforce,” consisting of HM Treasury, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England, published its final report setting out the United Kingdom’s policy and regulatory approach to cryptoassets and distributed ledger technology (DLT) in financial services. The Cryptoassets Taskforce was established in March 2018 as part… Continue Reading
On October 22, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published an evaluation paper that considers the impact that bringing seven additional benchmarks into its regulatory and supervisory regime had on the market. The paper evaluates the Benchmarks (Amendment) Instrument 2015 (Benchmarks Instrument), by which the FCA made amendments to the FCA Handbook to reflect the… Continue Reading
On October 22, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) updated its webpage for bespoke position limits set for a number of commodity derivatives traded on UK trading venues, namely contracts traded on ICE Futures in the United Kingdom. Following ICE Futures’ recent update of its range of products, the FCA has made the following amendments… Continue Reading
On October 19, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a webpage announcing the launch of its “Green FinTech Challenge”, an initiative to support firms developing innovative products and services in the green, financial technology (FinTech) sector. The Challenge is open to start-ups, incumbents and technology providers. Firms developing broader ethical, environmental, social or governance… Continue Reading
On October 12, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a consultation paper (October Consultation Paper) setting out its proposals to amend the Decision Procedure and Penalties (DEPP) manual and Enforcement Guide (EG) of the FCA Handbook. The FCA explains that the amendments are needed because of the changes introduced by the statutory instrument (SI),… Continue Reading
On October 15, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a discussion paper (Discussion Paper) on climate change and green finance. On the same day, the UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) published a consultation paper (Consultation Paper) on a draft supervisory statement (Draft Supervisory Statement) on enhancing the approach of banks and insurers to managing… Continue Reading
On October 5, HM Treasury published two draft statutory instruments (SIs) together with explanatory notes, which will make amendments to retained EU law relating to the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and Trade Repositories (TRs).… Continue Reading
On October 10, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published two consultation papers relating to the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit). The first, CP18/28, is the FCA’s first consultation paper on proposed changes to the FCA Handbook and to binding technical standards (BTS) resulting from Brexit. The second, CP18/29, focuses on the… Continue Reading
On October 5, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published an opinion, dated September 24, on position limits on UK natural gas commodity futures and options contracts proposed by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). ESMA received a notification from the FCA on February 7, under Article 57 of the revised Markets in Financial… Continue Reading
On September 19, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) published Dear CEO letters that they jointly sent to the chief executive officers (CEOs) of major banks and insurance companies regulated in the United Kingdom, regarding their preparations for the transition from the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) to alternative… Continue Reading
On September 24, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published Issue 56 of Market Watch, its newsletter on market conduct and transaction reporting issues. Issue 56 contains articles that provide a useful reminder in relation to obligations in relation to market abuse surveillance and payment for order flow (PFOF).… Continue Reading
On September 19, the UK’s House of Commons Treasury Committee (Treasury Committee) published a report on its inquiry into crypto-assets, launched in February 2018. The report is an update of what was provided on its website in May 2018 (for further details, see the May 25, 2018 edition of Corporate & Financial Weekly Digest). Key… Continue Reading
On September 10, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released a video focused on the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR). The video emphasizes the importance of clarity of responsibilities and maintaining high standards under the SM&CR. For further details on the SM&CR, see the July 28, 2017 edition of Corporate & Financial Weekly Digest.… Continue Reading
On September 14, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a statement and direction clarifying how a market operator based in the European Economic Area (EEA) may make an application to become a recognized overseas investment exchange (ROIE), following the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union (Brexit).… Continue Reading
