The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is engaging with firms to improve diversity and inclusion in financial services. It has launched a consultation, CP23/20 Diversity and inclusion in the financial sector – working together...more
11/22/2023
/ Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) ,
Corporate Governance ,
Data Disposal Protocols ,
Data Reporting ,
Diversity ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FSMA ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Harassment ,
Professional Misconduct ,
Proprietary Information ,
Risk Management ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Suitability Requirements
The European Council (Council) and the European Parliament (Parliament) announced on 30 June 2022 that they had reached a provisional agreement on the proposal for regulation on markets in cryptoassets (MiCA). The text of...more
10/6/2023
/ Cross-Border ,
Cryptoassets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
E-money tokens ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Council ,
European Parliament ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Services Industry ,
MiFID ,
Public Disclosure ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Sustainability ,
Transparency ,
UK ,
Utility Tokens
On 11 July 2023, the Luxembourg Parliament adopted bill of law n°8183 which amends five existing Luxembourg laws relating to alternative investment funds (“AIFs”) and alternative investment fund managers (“AIFMs”), namely the...more
7/26/2023
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
ELTIF ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Luxembourg ,
New Regulations ,
UK
On 9 March 2023, the Luxembourg Parliament adopted the Blockchain III Law. The Blockchain III Law – which was published on 17 March 2023 – amends, amongst others, the Financial Sector Law2 and the Financial Collateral Law....more
On 25 January 2023, the FCA published its key findings on the state of implementation of firms’ plans to embed the new Consumer Duty within their businesses. The Consumer Duty will apply from 31 July 2023 in relation to new...more
On 9 December 2022, in Edinburgh, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a set of reforms that are intended to drive growth and competitiveness in the financial services sector (the Edinburgh Reforms or the Reforms)....more
12/20/2022
/ Capital Markets ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FSMA ,
Long-Term Investment Funds ,
MiFID ,
Packaged Retail And Insurance-Based Investment Products (PRIIPS) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Scotland ,
Short Selling ,
Sustainable Finance ,
UK ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
On 20 July 2022, just over 18 months after the end of the transition period that marked the UK’s full departure from the EU, HM Treasury laid the Financial Services and Markets Bill 2022-2023 (the Bill) before Parliament for...more
On 30 June 2022, the European Council (Council) and the European Parliament (Parliament), announced that they had reached a provisional agreement on the proposal for regulation on markets in cryptoassets (MiCA), which covers...more
7/15/2022
/ Asset Management ,
Blockchain ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cryptoassets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
EU ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Investor Protection ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Stablecoins ,
Token Sales
Summary -
On 6 April 2022, the European Commission announced that is has adopted the regulatory technical standards to be used by financial market participants when disclosing sustainability-related information under the...more
4/8/2022
/ Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Market Participants ,
New Regulations ,
RTS ,
SFDR ,
Sustainable Finance
As set out in our earlier OnPoint, “Is Brexit Green?”, the UK has adopted a different approach to regulating ESG in the asset management sector compared to the EU by not “on-shoring” the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure...more
4/4/2022
/ Asset Management ,
Climate Change ,
Consultation Papers ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Management ,
Policy Statement ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SFDR ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
UK
ESMA published on February 2, 2022, a supervisory briefing (ESMA35-43-2900) setting out its expectations under the MiFID II framework for firms that use tied agents (the Briefing). ...more
In a letter dated 25 November 2021, the European Commission’s Director-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (the Director-General) confirmed that the date of application of the...more
As set out in our earlier OnPoint “Is Brexit Green?”1, the UK has adopted a different approach to ESG compared to the EU, by not “on-shoring” the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR”) and focussing...more
A brief recap - ESAs' letter to the EU Commission January 2021 On 7 January 2021 – less than eight weeks before the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR)1 ‘go live’ date – the Chair of the Joint Committee of the...more
In a letter dated 8 July 2021, the European Commission’s Director-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union confirmed that the date of application of the regulatory technical standards...more
On 23 June 2021, the French financial markets authority, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (the AMF) announced new quarterly reporting obligations relating to (i) indemnification payments to unitholders and (ii) breaches of...more
This note sets out at a high level the core regulatory issues that are likely to impact fund managers in the coming months, including an overview of the key actions needed with regard to ESG, LIBOR and Brexit. The paper also...more
5/10/2021
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Cryptoassets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment Management ,
Libor ,
Private Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
Readers scanning the UK/EU trade deal on Christmas Eve will have looked in vain for a meaningful section on financial services. Instead, the UK asset management industry has been presented with something that looks very much...more
Asset managers across geographies and asset classes are increasingly incorporating environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) considerations at all levels of the investment management business. Increased focus on ESG has...more
Tackling climate change is not a new initiative in the UK. Indeed, the UK was one of the first countries worldwide to endorse the recommendations of the Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) – aimed at...more
12/3/2020
/ Asset Management ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Statements ,
Green Finance ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
Andrew Bailey’s most recent speech on LIBOR transition (now in his new capacity as Governor of the Bank of England) likened the transition away from LIBOR to the game of cricket...more
7/31/2020
/ Asset Management ,
Bank of England ,
Banking Sector ,
CEOs ,
Compliance ,
Dear CEO Letter ,
EU ,
EU Benchmark Regulation ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
Libor ,
Transitional Arrangements ,
UK
The draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) set out detailed information relating to the content, methodology and presentation of certain environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures required under the EU...more
5/29/2020
/ Consultation Papers ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Draft Implementation Regulations ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Popular ,
Regulation Technical Standards (RTS) ,
SFDR ,
Sustainable Finance