The tone of the papers suggests that a fundamental reform of the Regime will be unlikely.
On 30 March 2023, the PRA and the FCA published a joint Discussion Paper (FCA DP23/3 and PRA DP1/23) seeking feedback on the...more
The consultation considers what a potential regulatory regime would look like, and its proposed scope.
On 30 March 2023, HM Treasury published a consultation on regulating ESG ratings providers, which ties in with and...more
3/31/2023
/ Consultation ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Green Finance ,
HM Treasury ,
IOSCO ,
Rating Agencies ,
Rating System ,
Ratings ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Third Country Entities (TCEs) ,
UK
The regulator is concerned that ESG-related disclosures are not meeting expectations.
The FCA has published a Dear CEO letter sent to benchmark administrators on 20 March 2023, expressing concerns about the quality of...more
Assertive regulators are bringing greater clarity and new challenges as they step up oversight of fintech innovation.
As the fast-growing fintech industry thrives, the sector has begun to attract greater regulatory...more
HM Treasury has confirmed that it will bring certain unregulated cryptoassets within scope of the financial promotions regime.
On 18 January 2022, the UK government confirmed its intention to bring the promotion of certain...more
1/20/2022
/ Consultation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Promotions ,
HM Treasury ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Regulation ,
UK
FCA makes clear that it expects a cultural shift in how firms focus on consumers.
On 7 December 2021, the FCA published its second Consultation Paper (CP21/36) on introducing a new Consumer Duty....more
12/10/2021
/ Consultation ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Duty of Care ,
Enforcement ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Good Faith ,
Public Comment ,
Retail Investors ,
SMCR ,
UK
UK regulators are considering how they can strengthen the regime to enhance standards and reduce risk.
On 3 December 2021, the FCA published a Consultation Paper (CP21/34) on changes to its rules regarding the Appointed...more
The regulator is inviting views on potential criteria for classifying and labelling investment products, and on further entity- and product-level sustainability-related disclosures.
On 3 November 2021, the FCA published...more
11/5/2021
/ Comment Period ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Institutional Investors ,
Investors ,
Product Labels ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Business Practices ,
Sustainable Finance ,
UK
This decision shines a spotlight on the activities of unregulated introducers.
In a recent decision, the Court of Appeal upheld the FCA’s findings that unregulated introducers had been carrying on regulated activities...more
10/13/2021
/ Alternative Investment Funds ,
Appeals ,
Criminal Liability ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FSMA ,
Pensions ,
Statutory Violations ,
UK ,
UK Regulated Activities Order (RAO Amendments) ,
Unregulated Entities
The global asset management community has long been among the leaders in recognising the investment and risk management benefits of tracking the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance of the assets it invests...more
10/4/2021
/ Asset Management ,
Business Strategies ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Germany ,
Global Standards ,
Hong Kong ,
Investment Management ,
Multinationals ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Singapore ,
Sustainability ,
UK
The latest edition of our Private Bank Briefing provides a roundup of legal and compliance issues impacting private banks and their clients from Q3 2021.
In this edition, we include a summary of the latest sustainable...more
9/28/2021
/ Afghanistan ,
AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banks ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Enforcement ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Green Finance ,
MiFID II ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Packaged Retail And Insurance-Based Investment Products (PRIIPS) ,
Sustainable Finance ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
The revised criteria allow UK-listed SPACs to avoid a suspension of their shares when announcing a de-SPAC deal.
The UK, acting through the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), will implement a new SPAC listing regime from...more
UK rules will diverge from the much-criticised EU framework.
On 20 July 2021, the FCA published a Consultation Paper (CP21/23) on amending the UK PRIIPs Regulation. The FCA has long held concerns about the PRIIPs...more
7/22/2021
/ Consultation ,
Corporate Bonds ,
Debt Securities ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EU ,
European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Funds ,
Market Participants ,
Packaged Retail And Insurance-Based Investment Products (PRIIPS) ,
Regulation Technical Standards (RTS) ,
Retail Investors ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
FCA has published guiding principles on the design, delivery, and disclosure of ESG and sustainable investment funds.
On 19 July 2021, the FCA published a letter sent to chairs of authorised fund managers, which sets out...more
FCA signals that it aims to take a tougher stance.
The FCA published its Business Plan for 2021/22 on 15 July 2021. The Plan, and accompanying remarks made by Nikhil Rathi, FCA CEO, suggest that the FCA intends to take a...more
ESMA warns against investor protection risks and provides guidance on expected disclosures.
On 15 July 2021, ESMA published a statement on the prospectus disclosure and investor protection issues raised by special...more
7/19/2021
/ Consultation ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EU Prospectus Regime ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
MiFID II ,
Prospectus ,
Prospectus Regulation (PR3) ,
Retail Investors ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
UK
New ESMA guidance less strict than the established UK position on PFOF. On 13 July 2021, ESMA published a statement on payment for order flow (PFOF), the practice of brokers receiving payments from third parties for...more
7/16/2021
/ Brokers ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
MiFID II ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities Traders ,
Trading Policies ,
Trading Restrictions ,
UK
Discussion Paper opens debate on potential new rules to improve diversity in financial services.
On 7 July 2021, the FCA, the PRA, and the Bank of England published a joint Discussion Paper on diversity and inclusion in...more
7/8/2021
/ Bank of England ,
Banking Sector ,
Comment Period ,
Consultation ,
Discussion Draft ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
UK
Proposals signal that the UK government is willing to diverge significantly from EU rules.
On 1 July 2021, HM Treasury published a consultation on its Wholesale Markets Review....more
7/2/2021
/ Commodities ,
Consultation ,
Derivatives ,
Equity Markets ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
HM Treasury ,
MiFID ,
MiFID II ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Secondary Markets ,
Trading Policies ,
UK
The latest edition of our Private Bank Briefing provides a roundup of legal and compliance issues impacting private banks and their clients from Q2 2021.
In this edition, we cover sustainable finance developments, the...more
6/29/2021
/ Asset Protection ,
Banking Sector ,
Climate Change ,
Consultation ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Dear CEO Letter ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
FinTech ,
Libor ,
MiFID ,
Outsourcing ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Retail Investors ,
Sustainable Finance ,
UK
The FCA is proposing a disclosure regime for asset managers, life insurers, and pension providers.
On 22 June 2021, the FCA published a Consultation Paper (CP21/17) on introducing climate-related financial disclosure...more
6/28/2021
/ AIFM ,
Asset Management ,
Climate Change ,
Consultation ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Industry ,
Pensions ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
UK
The FCA is consulting on extending its rules to standard listed issuers.
On 22 June 2021, the FCA published a Consultation Paper (CP21/18) on extending the application of the existing climate-related disclosure...more
6/28/2021
/ Asset Management ,
Capital Markets ,
Climate Change ,
Consultation ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Reporting ,
G7 ,
IFRS ,
Listing Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
UK
A report from the Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform provides recommendations for how the UK can “re-imagine” its approach to regulation post-Brexit.
On 16 June 2021, the Taskforce on Innovation,...more
6/17/2021
/ Banking Sector ,
Counterparties ,
Digital Currency ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Information Reports ,
MiFID II ,
Open Banking ,
Packaged Retail And Insurance-Based Investment Products (PRIIPS) ,
Retail Banks ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
The FCA is proposing to set higher expectations for firms operating in retail markets.
On 14 May 2021, the FCA published a Consultation Paper (CP21/13) on introducing a new Consumer Duty....more
Proposed changes to the UK Listing Rules would allow certain SPACs to avoid a listing suspension.
Key Points:
..The FCA is proposing to amend its rules so that SPACs meeting certain conditions and disclosure...more