The U.K. Joint Money Laundering Steering Group opened a consultation on July 28, 2023 on guidance on the U.K. travel rule for cryptoasset transfers. The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations...more
8/15/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Money Laundering ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
UK
The report and recommendations of the UK Investment Research Review were published on July 10, 2023. The recommendations have been accepted by the government and the Financial Conduct Authority has committed to prioritizing...more
The U.K.’s newest Financial Services and Markets Act of 2023 (“FSM Act”) received Royal Assent on 29 June 2023. Certain parts came into force on its passing, others will come into effect two months after that, and the...more
8/1/2023
/ Competition ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services and Markets Act ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HM Treasury ,
Prospectus ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Securitization ,
Solvency II ,
UK
The issue of how firms should pay for investment research continues to be a controversial topic in the financial markets. The U.S. has maintained the approach it adopted before the mid-2000s, which is to permit investment...more
7/3/2023
/ Broker-Dealer ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Market Research ,
MiFID II ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK
On May 23, 2023, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions launched a consultation on proposed policy recommendations for crypto and digital asset markets. IOSCO is proposing that the final recommendations,...more
On May 24, 2023, the European Commission published a Retail Investment Strategy package aimed at enhancing retail investor protections across the EU and encouraging participation in the EU capital markets. The package...more
6/6/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Capital Markets ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
MiFID II ,
UK
On April 20, 2023, the European Parliament announced that it had formally endorsed the draft Regulation on information accompanying transfers of funds and crypto assets (referred to here as the EU Travel Rule Regulation). The...more
The U.K. Investment Research Review call for evidence was published on April 3, 2023. Relevant background to these issues is set out in our recent client note, “MiFID II: An Update on the Rules for Unbundling of Research,” in...more
On February 2, 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority published a final report and an Opinion on the trading venue perimeter. The Opinion clarifies the definition of multilateral systems under the EU’s revised...more
The issue of how investment research should be paid for by investors is controversial, long-standing and seemingly perennially the subject of legislative iterations, failure and unintended consequence and more reform. Before...more
The European Commission published proposals to amend the EU’s European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) in December 2022 (EMIR 3). According to the Commission, some of these measures are aimed at improving the...more
The U.K. Government announced on 9 December 2022 a series of initiatives, billed as the Edinburgh Reforms, to reform the laws for the U.K. financial services sector. In this note, we consider these reforms in detail and what...more
12/21/2022
/ Banking Sector ,
Cryptoassets ,
Digital Assets ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Sustainable Finance ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
The U.K. Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority have issued a joint consultation paper on proposals to amend the U.K. Binding Technical Standards on margin requirements for non-centrally cleared...more
The European Securities and Markets Authority has opened a consultation in which it proposes to amend the cash penalty process for cleared transactions under the EU Central Securities Depositories Regulation. The EU CSDR...more
The European Securities and Markets Authority has launched a consultation on proposed guidelines on standard forms, formats and templates to apply for permission to operate distributed ledger technology for market...more
The European Securities and Markets Authority has opened a consultation on proposals to amend the EU clearing and trading derivative obligations to reflect recent benchmark transitions from LIBOR to so-called risk-free rates....more
Following its consultation last year, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has launched a second consultation on bank prudential requirements for exposures to crypto-assets. The first consultation set out a preliminary...more
The House of Commons Treasury Committee has announced the creation of a new sub-committee that will scrutinize financial services regulatory proposals and has published a report setting out the approach that Parliament will...more
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, delivered the Queen’s speech in which he announced that the government will be introducing the so-called Brexit Freedoms Bill, which was first announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on...more
The EU and U.K. PRIIPs Regulations have had a significant effect on practices in the wholesale capital markets. Uncertainty about whether some financial instruments qualify as a PRIIP has resulted in cautious interpretations...more
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a three-year Strategy on improving outcomes of regulation and its 2022/23 Business Plan. In the 2022-2025 Strategy, the FCA outlines its expectations of financial services...more
The European Commission has launched a targeted consultation on a possible digital euro. The EU is considering introducing a digital euro for retail payments, which would be available alongside cash. A decision has not yet...more
Following its consultation last year, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published its final policy and rule amendments on the scope of the rules governing packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (or...more
Since late February 2022, the United States (U.S.), the European Union (EU) and its member states, the United Kingdom (U.K.), and many others—including Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Canada—have imposed sweeping...more
3/23/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Canada ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Foreign Policy ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
UK ,
Ukraine
An EU Commission Implementing Decision extending the equivalence of U.K. CCPs to June 2025 has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The equivalence decision applies to U.K. CCPs already established...more