The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is entering the final year of its 2022-2025 strategy, which features a commitment to be more innovative, assertive and adaptable. Its 2024/25 Business Plan outlines how the regulator...more
Social media raises a novel set of risks and challenges to effective financial services regulation, particularly in the field of consumer protection and market integrity. Specifically, regulators have expressed concerns...more
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") has devoted issue 75 of Market Watch (a newsletter on market conduct and transaction reporting issues) to share observations on practices around ‘market soundings’....more
The definition of a “cryptoasset” is unchanged from the February Consultation. The cryptoasset activities that will come into scope of the new regime are unchanged from those in the February Consultation, with amendments...more
On 31 October 2023, the FCA published its Market Watch newsletter no. 75 ("MW75"), expressing concern about instances of possible market abuse it has come across when routinely reviewing trading, and communications and...more
Fund Tokenisation: The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published a press release announcing that it has joined the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Project Guardian, a collaborative initiative with the financial industry...more
The FCA reminds market soundings recipients of their obligations under UK MAR best practices for trading during the market sounding period. On 31 October 2023, the FCA published Market Watch 75 reminding firms of the...more
In our Alert Marketing Cryptoassets and Services in and Into the UK: Shifting Regulatory Sands, we noted the policy statement issued by HM Treasury (HMT) on cryptoasset promotions and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)...more
Katten recently hosted an interesting and insightful panel discussion on the latest market abuse trends in the UK and US. The session was presented Katten Financial Markets Regulatory Partner Neil Robson alongside RQC Group’s...more
Welcome to the Corporate Briefing, where we review the latest developments in corporate law that you need to know about. In this month’s issue, we discuss...more
This edition covers the FCA’s priorities for the next 12 months, the ICGN statement on post-pandemic AGM practices, Takeover Code changes affecting competitive bids, and a proposed new corporate “failure to prevent fraud”...more
In February 2023, the UK Treasury (HMT) published its consultation and call for evidence on the future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets (Consultation Paper). This is part of Phase 2 of HMT’s effort to...more
This pair of posts focuses on ten less-obvious enforcement predictions that we think will shape the UK financial services investigations and enforcement landscape during 2023 and beyond. Originally published in Practical...more
The United Kingdom HM Treasury (“HMT”) on 1 February 2023 launched its first consultation on the future regulatory regime for cryptoassets (the “Cryptoassets Consultation”). At the same time, it also published a response to...more
In a strike out application, the High Court has reaffirmed that materials obtained through a formal request for mutual legal assistance (MLA) can only be used for the purpose stated within the request, absent express consent...more
The FCA has published Primary Market Bulletin No.42 which, amongst other things: (i) discusses themes from the FCA’s enquiries into unlawful disclosure of inside information (ii) highlights the relationship between the...more
The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) has banned and fined three bond traders for placing large-sized orders for future contracts in relation to Italian government bonds that they did not intend to execute, while...more
The late summer saw the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority issue a “Dear CEO Letter” (the Letter) setting out its Alternatives Supervisory Strategy FCA Portfolio Letter: Our Alternatives Supervision Strategy 2022. With...more
Christopher Gent, a former CEO of Vodafone Group plc and non-executive Chairman of GlaxoSmithKline plc, was appointed as the non-executive Chairman of ConvaTec Group Plc (“ConvaTec”), a company admitted to trading on the...more
Identifying and reporting instances of potential market abuse is required under the Market Abuse Regulation ('MAR'). A firm must have effective arrangements, systems and procedures in place to detect and report suspicious...more
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has identified a number of common weaknesses in market abuse surveillance arrangements at small and medium sized firms. This briefing considers these and the action firms can take to...more
As the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) attempted to mitigate the effect of COVID-19 on consumers and the market, enforcement investigations and action slowed. ...more
Securities laws across France, Germany and the United Kingdom are widely comparable. Each country recognises the importance of maintaining a strong procedural framework of regulation and enforcement. The EU Market Abuse...more
In its May 2021 edition of Market Watch, the FCA described actions it took to address the impact which a firm’s trading algorithm was having in the market. Its concerns had been raised after the Regulator’s own internal...more
It is clear that the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) intends to be more aggressive in its enforcement activity in the coming year. The FCA’s Business Plan for 2021/22 (the Business Plan) signals a change in focus for the...more