On September 8, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published a “Dear CEO” letter setting out its strategy and supervisory priorities for overseeing benchmark administrators under the UK Benchmark Regulations (“UK...more
Christopher Gent, a former CEO of Vodafone Group plc and non-executive Chairman of GlaxoSmithKline plc, was appointed as the non-executive Chairman of ConvaTec Group Plc (“ConvaTec”), a company admitted to trading on the...more
An appointed representative (“AR”) is a firm or person who carries on a regulated activity, or activities, under the responsibility of an authorized financial services firm. An authorized firm that appoints representatives in...more
On August 1, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published a policy statement on strengthening its financial promotion rules for high-risk investments and firms approving financial promotions (the “policy...more
On July 21, the UK Treasury and the City of London Corporation (“CLC”) published a report on their first annual review of the UK financial services sector (the “Report”). The Report sets out findings from a review of the...more
On July 20, the Financial Services and Markets Bill (the “Bill”) was introduced in the UK’s House of Commons (“HoC”). This first formal stage in the legislative process (called the “first reading”) does not allow for debate...more
Recently the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) announced a consultation seeking comments on the winding down of one-, three- and six-month synthetic sterling LIBOR settings and on the future of the remaining US dollar...more
Here is a summary of ESG announcements from the European Union’s European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) and the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”). ...more
On May 31, 2022, the UK Treasury announced a consultation on the government’s proposals to manage the failure of systemic digital settlement asset (“DSA”) (including stablecoin) firms by adapting the existing Financial Market...more
On May 10, 2022, Prince Charles announced in the Queen’s Speech that the Government would bring in new legislation to “strengthen” the UK’s financial services industry to ensure that it acts “in the interest of all people and...more
On April 25, 2022, the UK Transition Plan Taskforce (the “Taskforce”) was formally launched by HM Treasury. The goal of the independent Taskforce is to develop a “gold standard” for climate transition plans. With a two-year...more
On April 25, 2022, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) provided an important update relating to the future of the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) benchmark. On its updated Benchmarks Regulation: our powers,...more
On April 4, 2022, the UK government announced plans to become a “global hub” for the cryptoasset industry with proposals for the regulation of stablecoins, development of an NFT (non-fungible token) issued by the Royal Mint,...more
4/12/2022
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Stablecoins ,
UK ,
Virtual Currency
On March 11, 2022, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (part of HM Treasury) and the Bank of England published a joint statement (the “Statement”) on sanctions and the...more
3/21/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Cryptoassets ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Fraud ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Military Conflict ,
Money Laundering ,
Russia ,
UK ,
Ukraine
Background -
On 24 June 2021, the UK Treasury (“HMT”) launched a call for evidence on the functioning of the UK Securitisation Regulation (“UKSR”). Article 46 of the UKSR required HMT to review the functioning of the...more
The newly enacted National Security and Investment Act 2021 (the “Act”) introduces a broad regime enabling the Government to intervene in M&A transactions on the grounds of national security. ...more
Further to our Clients & Friends Memo of 22 June 2020, the Sustainability Taxonomy Regulation (2020/852) (the “Regulation”) was published in the Official Journal on 22 June 2020 and entered into force on 12 July 2020....more
3/11/2021
/ Asset Management ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment ,
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Sustainability ,
UK
I. A Growing Risk -
The United States, along with the United Kingdom and European Union, has increasingly wielded economic sanctions against major commercial actors and financial transactions, sometimes roiling global...more
3/3/2021
/ AML/CFT ,
Blocking Statutes ,
Derivatives ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Financial Transactions ,
Global Market ,
ISDA ,
Popular ,
UK ,
White Collar Crimes
On November 30, ICE Benchmark Administration ("IBA"), the administrator of LIBOR, announced a consultation on its intention to cease publishing USD LIBOR (1) in the case of 1-week and 2-month LIBOR, on December 31, 2021; and...more
The Securitisation Regulation applies to securitisations, the securities of which are issued (or where no securities are issued, the securitisation positions of which are created) on or after 1 January 2019....more
10/21/2019
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Lenders ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securitization ,
Securitization Standards ,
Securitization Vehicles ,
Special Purpose Entities ,
Transparency ,
UK ,
UK Brexit