On March 28, 2024, the Bank of England published a consultation paper on revisions to its Statement of Policy and Procedure on its approach to enforcement, published in January 2024, to reflect enhancements to the BoE's...more
On March 21, 2024, HM Treasury published a paper on the next phase of its Smarter Financial Services Regulatory Framework, the U.K.'s program of post-Brexit regulatory reforms for financial services. The original policy...more
On February 27, 2024, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority published a consultation on revisions to its Enforcement Guide, setting out proposals which aim to simplify the guidance and increase transparency around the FCA's...more
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published its Rule Review Framework, setting out how it will set, measure and monitor the outcomes of its Handbook rules. The Rule Review Framework was mandated under the Financial...more
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (Consequential Amendment) Regulations 2023 (with related Explanatory Memorandum) came into force on January 1, 2024, clarifying that certain changes provided for under the...more
The U.K. is currently engaged in a wide-ranging review of the inherited package of EU financial services law. The rules on short selling, which impose disclosure obligations and restrictions on persons seeking an economic...more
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Commencement No. 3) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 were made on August 25, 2023, postponing the revocation of the Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (Contractual...more
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has launched a review of the treatment by regulated financial services firms of Politically Exposed Persons based in the U.K. Firms are currently obliged, under the Money Laundering,...more
On June 27, 2023, the EU and U.K. signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Financial Services Cooperation, a high-level agreement on future cooperation in the regulation of financial services. The MoU provides for -
-...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
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
The U.K. Government has published the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, known as the Brexit Freedoms Bill, which aims to repeal or assimilate retained EU law and abolish the principle of the supremacy of EU law in...more
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
HM Treasury has published its final policy approach to the regulation of central counterparties and central securities depositories under the Financial Services Future Regulatory Framework Review. The response is published on...more
HM Treasury has published its final response to the Financial Services Future Regulatory Framework Review in which it sets out the government's policy approach to reforming the U.K.’s regulatory architecture post-Brexit. The...more
The recently published Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSM Bill) is intended to recast the U.K.’s regulatory architecture post-Brexit. It was introduced to Parliament on 20 July 2022. The Bill implements the outcomes of...more
8/2/2022
/ Commodities ,
Derivatives ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services and Markets Act ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HM Treasury ,
New Legislation ,
Stablecoins ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
Following the Queen's speech yesterday, the government has published a briefing pack setting out details of the bills that it intends to introduce, including the so-called Brexit Freedoms Bill as well as key legislation...more
5/24/2022
/ Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
HM Treasury ,
Insider Trading ,
MiFID II ,
Sanctions ,
Securities ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
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
HM Treasury has published a summary of responses to its consultation on the U.K. funds regime. The consultation forms part of the U.K. Government's plans to make the U.K. a more attractive location for asset management....more
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
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that a "Brexit Freedoms Bill" will be put before Parliament. Upon Brexit taking effect, all then in force EU Regulations were "on-shored" automatically into U.K. laws, pursuant...more
HM Treasury has released a further consultation under the Future Regulatory Framework Review concerning the regulation of central counterparties and central securities depositories. The Future Regulatory Framework Review is...more
2/17/2022
/ Bank of England ,
Banking Sector ,
CCPs ,
Client Services Director (CSD) ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
HM Treasury ,
Investment Adviser ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
The European Union’s financial regulatory regime for third-country access in many sectors relies on a framework of “equivalence,” whereby institutions based in approved non-EU countries with similar standards may have varying...more
10/22/2020
/ EIOPA ,
EMIR ,
EU ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
FinTech ,
MiFID II ,
MiFIR ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
The European Union’s financial regulatory regime for third-country access in many sectors relies on a framework of “equivalence,” whereby institutions based in approved non-EU countries with similar standards may have varying...more
The U.K. House of Commons has approved the Withdrawal Agreement. Assuming this is ratified by the EU, and Royal Assent is achieved in time, the U.K. will leave the EU on January 31, 2020, entering into a “transition” or...more
1/15/2020
/ Cross-Border Transactions ,
Data Protection ,
EU ,
EU Action Plans ,
European Commission ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Framework Agreement ,
UK ,
UK Brexit