Brexit & Financial Services: Preparing for the End of the Transition Period
The UK Chancellor announces a growth-focused agenda for financial services. On 14 November 2024, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, delivered her first Mansion House speech....more
The Financial Action Taskforce has published a consultation paper on revisions to its anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing standards relating to financial inclusion. The consultation is part of FATF's program...more
The European Commission, the European Central Bank and the European Securities and Markets Authority have published a joint statement on the next steps to support the preparations towards a transition to T+1. Under the EU...more
Many governments are grappling with the question of how to regulate artificial intelligence to ensure it is adopted safely and used responsibly without hampering innovation. Governments have generally indicated similar...more
This client memorandum concerns a highly technical point of considerable practical importance. It challenges aspects of the received wisdom that, for post-Brexit cross-border investment business conducted from the U.K....more
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has opened a consultation setting out proposals for allowing firms to use joint (bundled) payments for third-party research and execution services, subject to certain requirements being...more
In July 2021, HM Treasury published the Wholesale Markets Review consultation (WMR), which included proposals to reform the U.K.’s secondary markets framework. There was broad support for reforms to (a) modify the ancillary...more
HM Treasury has published a response to its consultation on cryptoasset regulation, setting out its final proposals for the U.K.'s cryptoasset regulatory regime. The U.K. plans to make cryptoassets a new category of...more
The report and recommendations of the UK Investment Research Review were published on July 10, 2023. The recommendations have been accepted by the government and the Financial Conduct Authority has committed to prioritizing...more
In July 2023, the Investment Research Review (the Review) commissioned by the UK government published its findings into investment research in UK capital markets. The Review made the following seven recommendations, seeking...more
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
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
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 U.K. Financial Conduct Regulator has published a statement on the results of its review of the investment platforms market. The FCA launched its Investment Platforms Market Study in 2017 to investigate whether competition...more
HM Treasury has published its consultation response to the Wholesale Markets Review, setting out summaries of responses received to its proposals and how changes will be progressed. There are certain areas that HM Treasury...more
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a discussion paper on its proposed Sustainability Disclosure Requirements and sustainable investment labels. The FCA is seeking initial views on these proposals with the...more
FCA regulatory sandbox: new application guide and now always open The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a new guide to assist firms making a regulatory sandbox application. The FCA has also updated its webpage...more
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
Future of UK financial services: Treasury Committee inquiry written evidence - The House of Commons Treasury Committee has published written evidence to the committee's inquiry into the future of financial services in the...more
29 September - The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published its perimeter report 2019/20, which provides an update on the issues raised in its 2018/19 report. A European Commission notice (2020/C 321/01) relating...more
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a statement on its approach to certain provisions of the Markets in Financial Instruments package and the Benchmarks Regulation in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The...more
• Following the 2008 crisis, Switzerland launched a legislative project to create uniform competitive conditions for financial intermediaries and improve client protection. • Swiss Parliament adopted the FinSA on 15 June...more
Payments - Payment services M&A retains its spark on the financial services landscape. Overview - Competition for innovative technology is fierce. Financial sponsors, big banks and, of late, fashion moguls are driving...more
Smaller and medium-sized managers are seeking scale to compete with "the trillionaires", who have enjoyed the lion's share of business inflows in 2018. Industry-wide margin squeeze, fierce market competition, eager buyers and...more
3 December - The European Central Bank ("ECB") published a document setting out its cyber resilient oversign expectations for financial market infrastructures. 4 December - On 4 December 2018, the Council of the EU...more