The FCA has published a consultation paper on prohibiting the sale of derivatives and exchange traded notes (ETNs) referencing certain types of cryptoassets to retail customers. The FCA considers such products to be ill...
The CMA has announced that it will conduct a review of Part 6 of the Retail Banking Market Investigation Order 2017 (the Order). The Order, which came into force in February 2018, requires qualifying banks to...
The Board of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has announced the establishment of a BIS Innovation Hub to foster international collaboration on innovative financial technology within the central banking...
In line with the Government’s policy to safeguard access to cash for those who need it, whilst supporting digital payments, HM Treasury (HMT) has establish the Joint Authorities Cash Strategy (JACS) Group...
UK Finance has published a set of principles setting out the approach that banks should take when communicating a decision to a customer that it cannot offer, or continue with, the provision of its service. In each...
The PSR has published a Call for Views (CP19/5) on the structure of LINK interchange fees. The paper examines how the structure of the interchange fees works now, what other options there could be and how the...
The FCA and PRA have published a joint statement on firms’ preparation for the transition from LIBOR to overnight risk-free rates (RFRs). The joint statement sets out key themes, good practice and next steps for...
The FCA and the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets have agreed to work more closely together in order to protect and enhance the integrity of their financial systems. The regulators will share information to...
The FSB has published a report on crypto-assets, which will be delivered to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors ahead of their meeting in Fukuoka in June 2019. In particular the report notes: the work...
ESMA has published a statement on the revised scope of the EU’s share trading obligation (STO) under a no-deal scenario, following their initial announcement on 19 March 2019. ESMA stated that although its prior...
The FCA has published a Call for Input, requesting the views of interested parties on the concept of cross-sector sandbox. Since October 2018, the FCA has engaged with a range of regulators and a small group of firms to...
The APP Scams Steering Group has published the new voluntary Code which gives customers greater protection against APP scams and provides victims, who meet certain requirements, with full refunds. To help protect...
Following an application by the FCA, the High Court recently ruled that Xcore Capital Limited, an unauthorised forex firm, and broker, Mr Jonathan Chitty had carried on an unauthorised investment scheme. Consumers were...
We have written an article on the steps the payments industry is taking to mitigate the risks of APP fraud, in particular the introduction of ‘Confirmation of Payee’, an account name checking system.
The FCA and Action Fraud have reported that victims have lost over £27 million in total in 2018/2019 to crypto and forex investment scams. Action Fraud reports show that on average, victims were each scammed out of...
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has published its Annual Review 2018/2019. The Annual Review highlights that FOS has: received more than 388,000 complaints over the past 12 months, which is up 14% on 2017/2018...
The FCA has published a consultation paper which sets out its proposals for changes to its mortgage advice and selling standards. The purpose of the consultation is to address the issues identified through the...
The EBA has published an opinion on the nature of passport notifications regarding agents and distributors under PSD2, 2EMD and MLD4. In particular, the opinion provides clarity on: the criteria that national competent...
Following its ‘Dear CEO’ letter, published on 9 January 2019, the FCA has reminded firms involved in the approval of financial promotions for unauthorised persons of their obligations when doing so. The FCA...
As a wholly owned subsidiary of the FCA, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has announced that it is adopting and applying the same core principles of the Senior Managers Regime as the FCA. A formal description of the...
The Upper Tribunal has today published its decision in Linear Investments Ltd v FCA [2019] UKUT 0115 (TCC) (FS2018/054), in which it upheld the FCA’s decision to fine Linear for market abuse failings. In September...
The Senior Fraud Office (SFO) announced that 2 former senior bankers at Barclays, Carlo Palombo and Colin Bermingham, were sentenced to a total of 9 years imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court for manipulating the Euro...
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) published its annual plan and budget setting out its key objectives and activities for 2019/2020. The PSRs key initiatives include: to protect people from Authorised Push Payment...
The FCA has published a speech by Jonathan Davidson, Executive Director of Supervision – Retail and Authorisations, in which he sets out what the consumer credit sector can expect from the FCA in terms of regulation. Mr...
ESMA has published a statement in which it outlines its approach, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, to the application of the trading obligations for shares (STOs) under article 23 of MiFIR in the absence of an...
The FCA has updated its webpage on digital regulatory reporting (DRR) by publishing – a video which explains the concept of DRR and outlines the work carried out by the DRR pilot group; a report which sets out an...
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has published a statement on crypto-assets. The Committee acknowledges that while the crypto-asset market remains small relative to that of the global financial system, and...
The Authorised Push Payment (APP) Scams Steering Group announced that it has agreed a voluntary Code of good practice. The Code aims to better protect customers and reduce the occurrence of APP fraud. It sets out the...
ESMA has announced that in the event of a no-deal Brexit, the Central Securities Depository (CSD) established in the UK, Euroclear UK and Ireland Ltd, will be recognised as a a third country CSD to provide its services...
The FCA has updated its webpage on credit rating agencies (CRAs) in order to reflect the transitional provisions under the Credit Rating Agencies (Amendment etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/266) (CRA...
The FCA has published a ‘Dear CEO’ letter in which it provides clarity about the communication and approval of financial promotions by regulated and unregulated businesses. The FCA has published the letter...
The FCA has published an evaluation paper on reducing barriers to entry into the UK banking sector. In its paper, the FCA evaluates the impact that the 2013 reforms to the authorisations process and a shift in approach...
In September 2018, the FCA consulted on new or amended rules, directions and guidance to implement the Regulatory Technical Standards for strong customer authentication and common and secure open standards of...
Following a consultation earlier this year, the FCA has published a policy statement setting out the new rules and fees that will apply to claims management companies (CMCs) from April 2019. From 1 April 2019, the FCA...
The European Commission has launched a review of the Distance Marketing Directive (DMD) to assess whether it is relevant, effective, efficient, and in line with other EU legislation. The review follows an announcement...
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is consulting on its proposed Annual Plan, which sets out its plans and priorities for 2019 to 2020. Subject to the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, the CMA plans to give...
The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) is consulting on proposals to create an industry-led system of multiple dashboards which will allow millions of people to access their pension facts and figures from most...
The Working Group on Sterling Risk-Free Reference Rates (Working Group) has published a communication pack entitled ‘Preparing for 2022: what you need to know about LIBOR transition’. The pack is designed to...
The Plenary of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) has announced the appointment of Randal K. Quarles (Governor and Vice Chairman for Supervision at the US Federal Reserve) as its new Chair and Klaas Knot (President of...
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is consulting on its proposal to make general directions requiring payment service providers (PSPs) to implement a Confirmation of Payee (CoP) service. The consultation paper seeks...
The FCA has published a consultation paper (CP18/35) setting out its proposals to introduce a price cap on rent-to-own (RTO) firms, summarising the feedback to the consultation carried out in May 2018 on high-cost...
The FCA has published a speech by Christopher Woolard, Executive Director of Strategy and Competition at the FCA, delivered at the Regulation of Cryptocurrencies event on 20 November 2018. The speech highlights the key...
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published its work programme, setting out its main objectives, priorities and deliverables for 2019. The EBA’s 5 strategic areas for 2019 include to: lead the Basel III...
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has published a press release following its plenary meeting in Ottawa, in which it reviewed the financial vulnerabilities and deliverables for the G20 Summit. Points of interest...
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has published a Specific Direction (Specific Direction 8) given to Link Scheme Holdings Ltd, the operator of the LINK ATM system. The direction relates to the adoption of appropriate...
The FCA has published a feedback statement on digital regulatory reporting. This follows the FCA’s call for input on smarter regulatory reporting in February 2018. The FCA found that most respondents agreed that...
The FCA has published a ‘Dear CEO’ letter setting out the issues surrounding the increase in complaints about unaffordable lending (including complaints about a ‘chain’ of loans over an extended...
The FCA and Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Mutual Recognition of Funds, which will allow eligible Hong Kong public funds and UK retail funds to be distributed...
The FCA has published a ‘Dear CEO’ letter to debt packager firms, setting out its expectations on the provision of debt advice and counselling services. The FCA is concerned about the poor standards it has...
The FCA has published its thematic review on the impact of credit broking remuneration models at the point of sale. The thematic review covered a wide variety of credit brokers offering loans or finance provided by a...
The FCA and PRA have published a joint ‘Dear CEO’ letter sent to major banks and insurers supervised in the UK regarding the preparations and actions they have taken to manage the transition from the London...
Michael Nascimento, the controlling mind of a £2.8m investment fraud was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment in the Southwark Crown Court. Between July 2010 and April 2014, members of the public were cold-called...
The European Parliament has voted in plenary to adopt a resolution on regulatory and supervisory relationships between EU and third countries. In addition, it published a provisional edition of the resolution. In...
The Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published its latest report on the risks and vulnerabilities in the EU financial system (JC 2018 34). The autumn report highlights the following risks...
The FCA has published final notices in respect of One Call Insurance Services Limited and its majority shareholder John Radford for breaches in relation to client money and assets in the general insurance and protection...
The FCA has cancelled the Part 4A permissions of two firms, Causeway Group Limited and Prime Render Solutions Limited . The cancellation of the permissions is due to both firms failing to satisfy the suitability...
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has published a statement, following its October 2016 Consultation Paper and December 2016 Feedback Statement on complaints data publication. The Feedback Statement included...
The European Central Bank (ECB) has published the latest edition of its Supervision Letter. The August edition includes a recording of an interview with Ed Sibley, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland and ECB...
The FCA has published its findings of the review of how Non-deposit Taking Mortgage Lenders (NDTMLs) and Mortgage Third-Party Administrators (MTPAs) handle complaints. In particular the review looked at how NDTMLs and...
The FCA has published a Dear CEO letter on cross border booking arrangements. In its letter, the FCA acknowledges that, in order to deal with the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, firms have put in place contingency...
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has announced that it has become a member of the Sustainable Insurance Forum (SIF). The SIF is a network of insurance supervisors and regulators from...
The ECB has published a draft Regulation amending the Money Market Statistical Reporting (MMSR) Regulation. Since July 2016, the ECB has used the MMSR Regulation to collect data on the euro money market. In addition...
The FCA has published a consultation paper on rules and guidance to improve conduct and communication in the payment services and e-money sectors. Currently, payment service providers and e-money issuers are subject to...
The FCA has published an update on its investigation into RBS’s treatment of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers transferred to its Global Restructuring Group (GRG). The FCA commissioned...
UK Finance has announced that together with the Building Societies Association and the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association, it has agreed common standards to help existing mortgage borrowers on a lender’s...
The FCA has published a policy statement setting out its final rules and guidance on assessing creditworthiness in consumer credit. The policy statement summarises and responds to the feedback the FCA received to the...
The FCA has published a discussion paper on price discrimination in the cash savings market. The FCA is concerned that longstanding customers receive lower interest rates on easy access cash savings accounts products...
The PSR has published its draft terms of reference setting out the proposed approach to the market review into the supply of card-acquiring services that it intends to carry out. The review follows concerns that the...
The PRA has published an occasional consultation paper on regulatory reporting. The consultation paper sets out proposed changes to the following reporting requirements: discontinuance of Prudent Valuation Return PV001;...
On 20 July 2018, the Bank Of England (BoE), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) published their Memorandum of Understanding in relation to...
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published its final report on the fraud reporting guidelines under PSD2 (Guidelines). The Guidelines have been published following the consultation which took place in August...
Alongside the Approach to Consumers document, which was published on 17 July 2018, the FCA has published a discussion paper (DP18/5) on the introduction of a duty of care for financial services firms. In response to the...
Following its consultation in November 2017, the FCA has today published its Approach to Consumers document which aims to address the concerns raised in the feedback to the consultation. The consultation took place...
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has published a statement on reforms to interbank offered rates (IBORs) and the development of overnight risk-free rates (RFRs) and term rates. Points of interest include: to...
The FCA has published a speech by Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the FCA, on transitioning from LIBOR to alternative interest rate benchmarks. Although important steps have been taken towards transition, Andrew...
Parliament has announced that the second reading of the Banking (Cash Machine Charges and Financial Inclusion) Bill 2017-19 is scheduled to take place on Friday 23 November 2018. The Bill contains provisions which...
The FCA has published a revised version of its Approach Document on payment services and electronic money. The updated document includes new guidance on operational and security risks under PSD2; which can be found in...
The Bank of England, the PRA and FCA have published a joint discussion paper on its approach to improve operational resilience in the financial sector. The regulators envisage that boards and senior managers can achieve...
The European Commission has published a roadmap on the Consumer Credit Directive (Directive). The Commission is looking to assess: effectiveness: whether the original objectives of the Directive have been achieved;...
Following a consultation in October 2017, the European Payments Council has published a revised version of its mobile contactless Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) card payments interoperability implementation guidelines...
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has issued a press release stating that the consolidation of the UK retail payment systems is now complete, following the introduction of the New Payment Systems Operator (NPSO). The...
HM Treasury has published a speech by Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer, which was delivered at the annual Mansion House dinner. In his speech, Mr Hammond focused on Brexit and financial services. He said that...
Mark Carney, Governor of the BoE, delivered a speech at the annual Mansion House dinner on how the UK financial system can continue to serve the UK and the world, in the face of major structural changes. In his speech...
The FCA has published a statement on the European Banking Authority’s (EBA) draft PSD2 Guidelines and Opinion on the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on Strong Customer Authentication and Common and Secure...
The FCA have published a report on its Financial Lives Survey 2018. The survey is the FCA’s largest tracking survey of adults and their finances, covering 13,000 face-to-face and online interviews. Key findings...
HM Treasury has published a summary of the submissions received to the call for evidence on problem debt. The call for evidence was issued in October 2017 to gain further insight from the debt advice sector and...
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published its annual report 2017, in which it describes the work undertaken and its achievements in 2017. The report also includes the EBA’s key areas of focus for 2018...
The Payment Services Regulator (PSR) has published a Discussion Paper (DP18/1) on the use of data in the payments industry. The aim of the discussion paper is to better understand the actions the PSR may need to take in...
The Bank of England (BoE) has, together with the New Payments System Operator (NSPO) and the Payment System Regulator (PSR), launched a 6 week consultation on the adoption of a common global standard, known as...
The Bank of England (BoE) has published its response to the Treasury’s Call for Evidence on cash and digital payments in the new economy. The BoE welcomes Treasury’s Call for Evidence. Key points include:...
HM Treasury and the Bank of England have announced that Bradley Fried has been appointed as Chair of the Court of the Bank of England, with effect from 1 July 2018. He will replace Sir Anthony Habgood who has been Chair...
The Treasury Committee has updated its webpage with the written evidence it has received to its digital currencies inquiry, which was launched in February 2018. The Committee received written evidence from a number of...
The first meeting of the UK’s new Cryptoassets Taskforce took place on 21 May 2018. The Taskforce was first announced in April by the Chancellor of the Exchequer as part of the Government’s Fintech Sector Strategy...
The FCA has published a memorandum of understanding (MoU) it has entered with the Insolvency Service (IS). The MoU sets out the agreement between the IS and the FCA that governs the exchange of information to better...
The FCA has today published a decision notice in which it has banned a director, Darren Newton, from working in any regulated activity in the financial services sector. The FCA found that Mr Newton had used...
The European Central Bank (ECB) has published a summary of the responses it received to its second consultation on developing a euro unsecured overnight interest rate. The consultation follows the ECB’s decision...
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint about a credit card advertisement broadcast by Intelligent Lending Limited t/a Ocean Finance. The complainant challenged whether the advertisement should have...
The PRA has today published two consultation papers relating to Solvency II. The first consultation paper “Solvency II: External audit of the public disclosure requirement” sets out the PRA’s proposals...
The European Central Bank (ECB) has launched a consultation on cyber resilience oversight expectations. The consultation contains a draft document which defines the ECB’s expectations in terms of cyber resilience, based...
The FCA has published a speech, by Karina McTeague, Director of Retail Banking Supervision, on opportunities offered by the Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and open banking. Highlights of the speech include: the FCA...