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
7/12/2024
/ EU ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Investment ,
Legislative Agendas ,
MiFID II ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reverse Solicitation ,
UK
On March 8, 2024, legislation amending the EU's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation were published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The amending Directive and amending Regulation aim to...more
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
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 European Commission has published a legislative proposal for reducing the scope of the EU Benchmark Regulation. The EU BMR provides the authorization and registration requirements for benchmark administrators, including...more
A Commission Delegated Regulation extending the transitional period laid down for third-country benchmarks has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union....more
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published a press release in early October in which it announced...more
The draft Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (Consequential Amendment) Regulations 2023, laid before Parliament on October 16, 2023, will implement certain aspects of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform)...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. Joint Money Laundering Steering Group opened a consultation on July 28, 2023 on guidance on the U.K. travel rule for cryptoasset transfers. The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations...more
8/15/2023
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Money Laundering ,
Terrorism Funding ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
UK
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
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 European Commission published proposals to amend the EU’s European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) in December 2022 (EMIR 3). According to the Commission, some of these measures are aimed at improving the...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
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
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 and U.K. PRIIPs Regulations have had a significant effect on practices in the wholesale capital markets. Uncertainty about whether some financial instruments qualify as a PRIIP has resulted in cautious interpretations...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
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a three-year Strategy on improving outcomes of regulation and its 2022/23 Business Plan. In the 2022-2025 Strategy, the FCA outlines its expectations of financial services...more
The European Commission has launched a targeted consultation on a possible digital euro. The EU is considering introducing a digital euro for retail payments, which would be available alongside cash. A decision has not yet...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
3/23/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Canada ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Foreign Policy ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
UK ,
Ukraine
Over the past week, the United States, the European Union and its member states, the United Kingdom, and several other countries have imposed rounds of sweeping new sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine....more
3/1/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Canada ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Foreign Policy ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
UK ,
Ukraine
HM Treasury has launched a consultation, the Financial Services Future Regulatory Framework Review: Proposals for Reform. The consultation paper presents the government's response to the feedback received to the October 2020...more
On September 24, 2020 the European Commission (EC) launched proposals for a new EU-wide regime to regulate crypto-assets and distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the financial sector through a Digital Finance Package. Key...more