In recent years, operational resilience has come under the spotlight of financial regulators globally, leading to a proliferation of new regulation. The sheer number of publications on this topic can be confusing for...more
The European Union’s financial regulatory regime for third-country access in many sectors relies on a framework of “equivalence,” whereby institutions based in approved non-EU countries with similar standards may have varying...more
30 July - The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) updated its webpage on the High Court business interruption insurance test case. The Prudential Regulation Authority (“PRA”) published a consultation paper (CP11/20)...more
3 February - The European Banking Authority (“EBA”) published a report on the benchmarking of diversity practices in credit institutions and investment firms under the CRD IV Directive (2013/36/EC)....more
CAPITAL MARKETS - Please see Conduct for an update on the IOSCO report on conflicts of interests and risks during the debt capital raising process - FCA publish Primary Market Bulletin - On 17 December 2019, the FCA...more
CONDUCT - GXFC announce priorities for updating the FX Global Code - On 4 December, the Global Foreign Exchange Committee (GFXC) announced its areas of focus for updating the FX Global Code. The GFXC discussed the feedback...more
BREXIT - Brexit negotiations - On 17 October, the UK government and the EC reached an agreement on a revised Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland to the Withdrawal Agreement, and a revised political declaration on the...more
BREXIT - EEA Joint Committee Decisions - On 18 July, four Decisions of the EEA Joint Committee made on 29 March and five Decisions made on 11 April that amend Annex IX (Financial Services) to the EEA Agreement were...more
1 June - HM Treasury published a consultation paper (dated May 2019) on the regulation of pre-paid funeral plans. HM Treasury intends to bring all funeral plan providers within the remit of the FCA....more
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS - The New European Parliament: More Fragmentation, Ad Hoc Coalitions, And Greener Policies? The results of the May 2019 European Parliament (“EP”) elections resulted in a more complex European...more
PUBLICATIONS - Up to Speed: No variation clauses now worth the paper they're written on A&O’s new “Up to Speed” article focuses on variation clauses. Variation clauses are often referred to as no oral modification or NOM...more
1 May - The Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") published a call for input on its evaluation of the Retail Distribution Review and Financial Advice Markets Review. The Prudential Regulation Authority ("PRA") published...more
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published its final report and technical advice to the European Commission on incorporating sustainability risks and factors into European regulation. The European Commission...more
CONSUMER/RETAIL - FCA call for input on RDR and FAMR review - On 1 May, the FCA published a call for input on its plans to evaluate the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) and Financial Advice Markets Review (FAMR). The...more
BREXIT - On 11 April, the European Council Decision (EU) 2019/584, taken in agreement with the UK to extend the period under Article 50(3) TEU, was published in OJ. The European Council agreed to a further extension to...more
BREXIT - Final EBA Outsourcing Guidelines: Impact on firms’ Brexit contingency plans The EBA has published final guidelines on outsourcing (the EBA Guidelines), which will replace the guidelines issued by its predecessor,...more
1 March - The European Banking Authority ("EBA") published an opinion on deposit protection resulting from the United Kingdom's ("UK") withdrawal from the European Union ("EU"). The Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA")...more
BREXIT - Final EBA Outsourcing Guidelines: Impact on firms’ Brexit contingency plans - The EBA has published final guidelines on outsourcing (the EBA Guidelines), which will replace the guidelines issued by its predecessor,...more
BREXIT - European Economic Area member states' domestic preparations for a “no deal” Brexit A&O has been tracking legislative developments in preparation for a no-deal Brexit throughout the EU27 member states. On our...more
PUBLICATIONS - Brexit and the creation of UK sectoral sanctions targets - The UK currently is set to leave the European Union on 29 March. In the context of international sanctions, most commentary has focussed on the...more
1 February - The Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") published a press release announcing that it has agreed with the European Securities and Markets Authority ("ESMA") and other European Union securities regulators...more
BREXIT- Financial Services Contracts (Transitional and Saving Provision) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 made On 28 February, the Financial Services Contracts (Transitional and Saving Provision) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 were...more
On January 4, the European Commission published the following draft Delegated Regulations which are designed to ensure insurance distributors and investment firms take environmental, social and governance (“ESG“) issues into...more
Allen & Overy publish weekly updates on key regulatory topics affecting the financial services sector. BREXIT - Please see the product sections for updates on the various draft SIs published in the last two weeks in...more
BREXIT - Please see the Consumer/Retail and Markets and Markets Infrastructure section for updates on various draft SIs published this week in anticipation of a hard Brexit and Trade associations' letter on temporary...more