On 20 February 2024, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published guidance (the “Guidance”) on the implementation of the Consumer Duty.
The Consumer Duty came into force for “open” products and...more
Welcome to the UK Regulation Round Up, a regular bulletin highlighting the latest developments in UK and EU financial services regulation....more
2/21/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Cryptoassets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Central Bank ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FinTech ,
Handbooks ,
MiFID II ,
MiFIR ,
OFR ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Securities Regulation ,
UK
Following the turn of the new year, our UK Regulatory specialists have examined the key regulatory developments in 2024 impacting a range of UK and European firms within the financial services sector. The key dates have been...more
2/8/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Capital Markets ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements
Welcome to the Regulation Round Up, a regular bulletin highlighting the latest developments in UK and EU financial services regulation.
Key developments in December 2023:
21 December -
UK / Swiss Regulatory...more
1/4/2024
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Bonds ,
Cryptoassets ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Derivatives ,
ELTIF ,
EMIR ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Policy Committee ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FSMA ,
MiFID II ,
MiFIR ,
Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ,
Packaged Retail And Insurance-Based Investment Products (PRIIPS) ,
Popular ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
SFDR ,
Taxonomy ,
UK
From 31 January 2024 the exemptions available from the restriction on communicating financial promotions appliable to high net worth (“HNW”) individuals and self-certified investors are changing.
The updates are...more
ESMA has, on 14 December 2023, published a public statement updating its Guidelines on funds’ names using ESG or sustainability-related terms. This follows the consultation paper on the same topic that ran until 20 February...more
On 14 December 2023, there was an initial agreement by the EU Parliament and the EU Council on the final text of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD”).
CSDDD is a significant and impactful piece...more
On 4 December 2023 the European Supervisory Authorities (the “ESAs”) published their final report on updating the regulatory technical standards of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR Level 2”).
The...more
12/15/2023
/ Asset Management ,
Derivatives ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Investors ,
Paris Agreement ,
SFDR ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Taxonomy
Welcome to the UK Regulation Round Up, a regular bulletin highlighting the latest developments in UK and EU financial services regulation.
...more
12/5/2023
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) ,
Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) ,
Cryptoassets ,
EMIR ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Markets ,
Greenwashing ,
Infrastructure ,
Investment Firms ,
MiFID ,
MiFID II ,
Over The Counter Derivatives (OTC) ,
Packaged Retail And Insurance-Based Investment Products (PRIIPS) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Short Selling ,
Tokenization ,
UCITS ,
UK
On 27 November 2023, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published its final report (the “Report”) on its multi-firm review into firms’ progress in implementing the internal capital adequacy and risk...more
On 28 November 2023, the long-awaited UK regime for the labelling, marketing and disclosure of sustainable funds (Sustainability Disclosure Requirements or “SDR”) has been published in the Financial Conduct Authority’s...more
11/29/2023
/ AIFM ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment ,
Labeling ,
Marketing ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SFDR ,
Stewardship Code ,
Sustainability ,
UK
On 22 November 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published three aides to stakeholders to support with navigating three areas of the European Union’s (“EU”) sustainable finance regulation: ...more
Fund Tokenisation: The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published a press release announcing that it has joined the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Project Guardian, a collaborative initiative with the financial industry...more
11/7/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Asset Tokens ,
Capital Requirements ,
Cryptoassets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
EURIBOR ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Handbooks ,
Machine Learning ,
Market Abuse ,
MiFID II ,
MiFIR ,
New Regulations ,
Packaged Retail And Insurance-Based Investment Products (PRIIPS) ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Securities ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
UK
Background -
On 26 October 2023, the United Kingdom (“UK”) Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (the “Act”) received Royal Assent.
The Act aims to reform Companies House and increase the transparency of UK...more
The Transition Plan Taskforce Disclosure Framework (the “TPT Framework”) published on 9 October 2023 has been publicly welcomed by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”). For UK asset managers and portfolio...more
Welcome to the UK Regulation Round Up, a regular bulletin highlighting the latest developments in UK and EU financial services regulation....more
10/12/2023
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
AML/CFT ,
Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) ,
Cryptoassets ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Promotions ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
FSMA ,
IMF ,
Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) ,
Libor ,
Mergers ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
SFDR ,
UCITS ,
UK
The annual report of the European Supervisory Authorities (the “ESAs”) on the extent of voluntary disclosure of principal adverse impacts (“PAIs”) under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR”) was published on...more
10/3/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) ,
Financial Products ,
Human Rights ,
Investment ,
National Competent Authorities (NCA) ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability
On 25 September 2023, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”) published a consultation paper on the introduction of measures to improve diversity and inclusion (“D&I”) in the financial services sector, including the...more
The European Commission has published two consultation papers that seek views on the fundamental features and effectiveness of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The purpose of both the targeted and the...more
On 7 September 2023, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) set expectations ahead of its new financial promotion rules for cryptoassets (which we wrote about here).
From 8 October 2023, new rules for...more
Both opportunities and challenges have arisen for the asset management industry as a result of the rapid introduction of UK and EU sustainable finance regulation in recent years. The new requirements have been heightened in...more
9/12/2023
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Asset Management ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
MiFID ,
New Regulations ,
SFDR ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
Taxonomy ,
UK
Welcome to the UK Regulation Round Up, a regular bulletin highlighting the latest developments in UK and EU financial services regulation....more
9/7/2023
/ AML/CFT ,
Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) ,
Commission Delegated Regulation ,
Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructure (CPMI) ,
Cryptoassets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Central Bank ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FSMA ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Firms ,
IOSCO ,
Money Market Funds ,
New Regulations ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation Technical Standards (RTS) ,
UK
In its February 2023 discussion paper (DP23/2) relating to the UK regulatory regime for asset management, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) briefly touched on fund tokenisation as an area of technological drive and...more
31 July -
ESG: The European Commission adopted a Commission Delegated Regulation, setting out the first set of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (“ESRS”), together with a Q&A (see press release). The ESRS specify...more
8/10/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Capital Requirements ,
Cryptoassets ,
EMIR ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FSMA ,
Investment Firms ,
Libor ,
Liquidity ,
Marketing ,
MiFID II ,
Money Market Funds ,
Packaged Retail And Insurance-Based Investment Products (PRIIPS) ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Risk Management ,
UK
Background On 12 July 2023 Nikhil Rathi, the CEO of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), delivered a speech on the FCA’s regulatory approach to Big Tech and Artificial Intelligence (“AI”)....more