There's been a flurry of regulatory activity in the UK and Europe over the past few weeks. Here's a look at the highlights. The EU has renewed its determination that the solvency regime for US-headquartered insurers and...more
Welcome to the third edition of our Horizon Scan, where we focus on some of the principal recent and expected developments and changes that we expect to be of interest to those in the private funds and investment management...more
The NY Climate Week conference took place during the week of 18 September 2023, bringing together international leaders from business and governments. During the conference the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial...more
31 January - The European Supervisory Authorities (“ESAs”) published a joint consultation paper (JC 2022 76) on the system established by the ESAs for the exchange of information relevant to the assessment of the fitness...more
With a new operational resilience framework in force in the UK and similar reforms proposed in the EU and the US, we examine how the regimes compare and their practical impact on financial services firms....more
The Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has published a set of revised outsourcing principles for regulated entities. IOSCO is an international policy forum for securities regulators and...more
SMCR for FMIs: HM Treasury consultation HM Treasury has published a consultation paper proposing a Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR or SM&CR) for financial market infrastructures (FMIs). The consultation closes...more
Brexit - Please see the Other Developments section for the MoU agreed between the ECB, FCA and BoE on post-Brexit supervisory cooperation, effective from 1 January. ...more
29 January - The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (“ESAs”) (that is, the EBA, EIOPA and ESMA) published two consultation papers on the mapping of external credit assessment institutions' (“ECAIs”)...more
The International Organization of Securities Commissions has published guidance on how to address potential conflicts of interest and associated conduct risks for intermediaries involved in the issuance of debt securities....more
Brexit: FCA opens registration applications for UK securitisation repositories - The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a new webpage for securitisation repositories under the Securitisation Regulation that...more
30 June - The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) announced that the deadline for solo-regulated firms to have undertaken the first assessment of the fitness and propriety of their Certified Persons will be delayed from 9...more
Recent regulatory developments of interest to all financial institutions. Includes COVID-19 and Brexit-related updates, amendments to the list of high-risk third countries in MLD4, and more....more
The current situation is fast-moving in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many financial supervisory and regulatory authorities as well as local governments have issued measures which are relevant for financial institutions...more
FCA 2020/21 business plan - The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its 2020/21 business plan setting out its business priorities for the year ahead. The FCA's immediate focus is to address the challenges...more
BREXIT - Please see our section on Other Developments for the FCA’s regulation round-up for January which updates on the FCA’s Brexit implementation activities. EC publish slides on the future relationship between the...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
SEMINARS - ESG and sustainable finance conference On 11 November, 8:30am to 1:00pm, A&O will be hosting its inaugural ESG and sustainable finance conference. The conference will bring together a wide range of market...more
BREXIT - FCA updates its draft transitional directions under the Temporary Transitional Power On 26 September, the FCA published updated versions of the draft directions that it intends to make using its no-deal Brexit...more
BREXIT - FCA steps up efforts to ensure that firms are ready for a no-deal Brexit - On 11 September, the FCA issued a press release providing additional information for firms on preparations for a no-deal Brexit. To...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
The FCA and the PRA published their Business Plans for 2019/20 in April 2019. FCA Priorities - As expected, with Brexit remaining a key focus, there are few new initiatives for this year. The FCA’s Business Plan sets...more
2 November - The Prudential Regulation Authority ("PRA") updated its consultation paper on changes to the PRA Rulebook and onshored binding technical standards. The Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") published issue...more
The European Securities and Markets Authority has announced that its various restrictions on the sale, distribution and marketing of Contracts for Difference to retail investors will be extended from November 1, 2018 for a...more
BREXIT - Please see the ‘Other Developments’ section for an update on the minutes of the meeting between the Governor of the BoE and the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the June Financial Stability Report....more