Of the many aims of the EU’s latest revisions to the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), the most controversial and intensely debated is mandating clearing at EU CCPs. Since Brexit, the EU has been concerned...more
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published two consultation papers on proposed guidelines under the EU Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation, one on reverse solicitation and the other on the classification of...more
Regulated financial services institutions and financial market infrastructure (FMI) providers often rely on third parties who provide significant services to them behind the scenes, including “cloud” services and IT services...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 Bank of England has published a Policy Statement on the Implementation of the Basel 3.1 standards in the U.K., taking account of responses to its Consultation Paper 16/22 published in November 2022. The Basel 3.1 changes...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
Over a year has now passed since Russia invaded Ukraine, and the U.S., the EU and its member states, the U.K., and many others—including Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Canada—continue to exert pressure on Russia...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
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 EU published a new Sustainable finance package 2023 on June 13, 2023. The package includes -
- A Proposed Regulation on the transparency and integrity of ESG rating activities, which aims to enhance the quality of ESG...more
On May 18, 2023, the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), the intergovernmental organization for modernizing and coordinating private law, published a set of draft Principles on Digital...more
On April 20, 2023, the agreed text of the proposed European Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation was given final approval by the European Parliament. The Regulation is intended to improve legal certainty in the regulatory...more
5/10/2023
/ Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
EU ,
European Parliament ,
Financial Services and Markets Act ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Member State ,
Popular ,
Stablecoins ,
UK
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 European Securities and Markets Authority has published its Final Report and draft Regulatory Technical Standards amending the cash penalty process for cleared transactions under the EU Central Securities Depositories...more
The International Organization of Securities Commissions has published a consultation on Compliance Carbon Markets and a separate discussion paper on voluntary carbon markets. Compliance Carbon Markets involve the issuance of...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 European Commission has published a call for advice addressed to the European Supervisory Authorities on the monitoring and supervision of "greenwashing" across the EU. Greenwashing can broadly be understood as the...more
The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures and the International Organization of Securities Commissions have published a discussion paper on the practices that central counterparties use to manage losses arising...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
8/11/2022
/ Asset Freeze ,
Belarus ,
Blocking Sanctions ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Transactions ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Technology Sector ,
Trade Relations ,
Trade Suspensions ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
UK ,
Ukraine
The EU has published in the Official Journal of the European Union its Regulation on a pilot regime for market infrastructures based on distributed ledger technology. The pilot regime will permit certain DLT market...more
The European Commission has published three consultations on the revised EU Payment Services Directive and on open finance. The results of the consultations will help inform the Commission's review of PSD2 and proposed...more
The European Banking Authority has published a report on the EU non-bank lending sector i.e., the growing number of financial intermediaries operating outside the EU financial services regulatory perimeter, including BigTech...more
The European Banking Authority has published a discussion paper on whether, and how, environmental risks should be incorporated into the EU prudential frameworks for EU credit institutions and investment firms. The feedback...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...more
4/28/2022
/ Australia ,
Canada ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Japan ,
Military Conflict ,
New Zealand ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
Taiwan ,
UK ,
Ukraine ,
Vladimir Putin
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