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 June 8, 2023, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority published its final Policy Statement setting out detailed rules for the U.K.'s cryptoasset financial promotions regime. The Policy Statement follows the publication on...more
On 7 June 2023, the U.K. government published a statutory instrument (the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) (Amendment) Order 2023 (FP (Amendment) Order) and related explanatory memorandum)...more
6/13/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
HM Treasury ,
New Legislation ,
Securities ,
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
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Commodity Derivatives and Emission Allowances) Order 2023 was made on May 17, 2023. The Order, which enters into force on January 1, 2025, paves the way for the Financial Conduct...more
On May 9, 2023, the U.K. government published a Call for Proposals on which metrics the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority should be required to publish for the new secondary growth and...more
On April 20, 2023, the draft Insider Dealing (Securities and Regulated Markets) Order 2023 was published (the draft Order). The draft Order will generally align the scope of the U.K.'s criminal insider dealing regime under...more
On May 3, 2023, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority published a Policy Statement on Improving Equity Secondary Markets, following its consultation last year. These changes are part of the response to the Wholesale Markets...more
On April 28, 2023, the Pension Fund Clearing Obligation Exemption and Intragroup Transaction Transitional Clearing and Risk-Management Obligation Exemptions (Extension and Amendment) Regulations 2023 were published, with...more
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
Following the Edinburgh Reforms announcement in December 2022, the review of the Senior Managers and Certification regime has been kicked off with HM Treasury publishing a call for evidence and the U.K. Financial Conduct...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 U.K. government has published a draft statutory instrument (and related explanatory memorandum), which will be known as the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Commodity Derivatives and Emission Allowances) Order...more
On March 2, 2023, HM Treasury issued a Call for Evidence requesting views on the practicalities of aligning the ring-fencing and resolution regimes for banks. The potential to align the U.K. ring-fencing and resolution...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
Following its consultation in 2022, on February 9, 2023 the U.K. Jurisdiction Taskforce published a Legal Statement on the issuance and transfer of digital securities under English private law....more
The U.K. government has published its much-anticipated proposals for regulating the cryptoasset industry. These proposals, currently in the form of a consultation, will see many (but not all) cryptoasset-related activities...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 final report of the independent review of net zero has been published: "Mission Zero: Independent Review of Net Zero". The review was established in September 2022 to assess the government's approach to achieving its...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
Over the past decade there has been an influx of small- and medium-sized entrants to the U.K. gas supplier market, which is supervised by Great Britain’s independent energy regulator, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets...more
U.K. financial regulation includes a small and unusual provision, the so-called “MiFID override,” which prioritises the EU’s MiFID II regime over the U.K.’s own regulatory framework when determining questions of what is...more