FCA has appointed Laura Dawes and Dominic Cashman as Directors of Authorisations, starting from late April/early May. It will also appoint a new Finance Director, Craig Chapman. The appointments come as FCA commits to a...
Author - Emma Radmore
Emma Radmore
FCA talks of a “digital regulator”
Jessica Rusu, FCA’s Chief Data, Information and Intelligence Officer, has spoken on how FCA is building its digital regulatory future. Its work will focus on fostering innovation, being intelligence led and...
Government to regulate stablecoins
Following its consultation last year, Treasury has decided it will regulate stablecoins. It plans to bring activities that issue or facilitate the use of stablecoins that are used as a means of payment within the UK...
FCA publishes BSPS compensation scheme proposals
FCA has published its proposals for a compensation scheme to compensate former members of the British Steel Pension Scheme who received unsuitable advice to transfer out. FCA says that almost half the advice it reviewed...
CMA issues SME banking directions to HSBC
CMA has issued directions to HSBC under the SME banking undertakings 2002. The directions stem from breaches notified over the past 18 months in respect of 221 loans impacting 204 customers since 2002. They primarily...
Wolfsberg Group publishes digital risk management guidance
The Wolfsberg Group has published guidance on Digital Customer Lifecycle Risk Management. The guidance looks at how non face-to-face customer interaction could be considered a standard or even lower-risk channel for a...
FCA fines asset manager and former investment director
FCA has fined GAM International Management Limited £9m, and its former Investment Director and Business Unit Head Timothy Haywood £230,000 following failure to conduct business with due care and attention, and failure...
Pension adviser refused judicial review of FOS decision
A pensions transfer and opt out adviser, Portal Financial Services LLP, had given advice to several clients introduced by a third party advisory firm which was the AR (Cherish) of another firm whose permissions did not...
New high-risk jurisdictions list in force from 29 March
The latest amendment Regulations setting out high-risk countries for ML/TF purposes took effect on 29 March. The list is: 1. Albania 2. Barbados 3. Burkina Faso 4. Cambodia 5. Cayman Islands 6. Democratic People’s...
Regulators remind firms of crypto risks
PRA and FCA have written to firms reminding them of their obligations when interacting with or exposed to crypto-assets and related services. FCA reminds firms that crypto can offer benefits but also increased risk to...
Update on Overseas Entities Register
Read our updated article on the creation of the Overseas Entities Register under the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022. The article highlights that the grace period given to overseas entities to...
CMA updates on OBIE roadmap
CMA has replied to the OBIE roadmap status highlighting areas that need updating and has written to the OBIE asking it to continue to update it on progress and saying the CMA will review progress in the summer.
EP reports on crypto Regulation proposal
The European Parliament has published its report on the proposal for a Regulation of crypto asset service providers. A key change is to specify that any person providing any relevant services to EU citizens must both...
FCA portfolio strategy letter on custody
FCA’s latest letter on its portfolio supervision strategy relates to custody and fund services. It sees 4 areas of potential harm: disruption to consumers and market participants, or the loss, compromise, or lack...
CMA writes to banks on banking order breaches
CMA has written to both Barclays and Lloyds about breaches of the Retail Banking Order. It found Barclays had breached the Order 13 times and Lloyds 10 times through inaccurate publication of information through APIs.
IOSCO consults on retail market conduct
IOSCO has published a consultation report from the Retail Market Conduct Task Force. The report looks at recent retail investor trends and the development of a regulatory toolkit to help regulators consider emerging...
NAO reports on BSPS
The National Audit Office has published its report on its investigation into the British Steel Pension Scheme. When BSPS was restructured in 2017 44,000 of its members had the opportunity to transfer out of the scheme...
Treasury updates AML advisory
The latest AML advisory to update the list of high risk third countries has been updated to reflect FATF’s latest list. The list now comprises Albania, Barbados, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, DPRK...
Lloyd’s responds to market misconduct
Lloyd’s has issued a notice of censure to Atrium, a managing agent in the Lloyd’s market. The firm admitted three charges of misconduct, and Lloyd’s Enforcement Board levied its largest ever fine of...
FCA starts thinking about “side pockets” for Russian-exposed funds
FCA has started discussions in advance of a formal consultation on options that would allow UK authorised retail funds to make exceptional use of “side pockets” so they can separate Russian and Belarussian...
FCA responds on LCF Complaints
FCA has set out its response to the Complaints Commissioner’s report on its handling of the failure of LCF in respect of assessing complaints against it. It says it is sorry for the mistakes it made. It has...
Economic Crime Act gets Royal Assent
The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 got Royal Assent on 15 March only 14 days after its introduction into Parliament. As noted in previous posts and articles, the main focus of the Act is: the...
Treasury and FCA on investing in Russia
The Chancellor has called on all UK firms to think very carefully about any investments that might support the Putin regime, and has welcomed commitments to divest away from Russian assets. The Government recognises...
FCA warns on illegal crypto ATMs
FCA has warned operators of crypto ATMs that they must shut down their machines. Any firm operating a crypto ATM in the UK must be registered under the MLRs, but no firm that does operate one has yet been approved by...
FCA creates Ukraine-focussed webpage
FCA has created a new webpage to bring together its various resources and publications relating to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It includes FCA’s notices about the effect of the invasion on financial markets...
AML Levy Regulations made
The Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy Regulations have been made and will take effect on 1 April. The Regulations: specify the FCA, Gambling Commission or HMRC as appropriate as the collection agencies; and...
FCA publishes lender portfolio letters
FCA has published its most recent porfolio strategy letters for: retail mortgage lenders; non-bank lenders; and building societies. Common themes in the letters are: that the response to the pandemic has shown FCA and...
Sanctions and Economic Crime update 11 March
Over the last couple of days: OFSI has published a blog on the evolving Russian sanctions, including calling out the intent of the Economic Crime bill to introduce a strict civil liability test, and confirming that it...
ESMA publishes peer review on cross-border supervision
ESMA has published its peer review on cross-border supervision of investment firms, and. It found many shortcomings, and says that “home” regulators need to make significant improvements to their approach...
Court of Appeal judgment on emoney safeguarding
The judgment in relation to the treatment of certain funds held by Ipagoo, a failed EMI, has been handed down. The joint administrators of the firm had applied for directions as to whether certain funds were held on...
Economic Crime Bill now in Lords as Russian sanctions further updated
The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill has started its passage through the House of Lords, and the Bill as brought from the Commons has been released. Meanwhile, the Russia sanctions regulations have...
FCA gives guidance on operational and cyber resilience in light of invasion of Ukraine
FCA’s new webpage looks at points firms should consider about their operational and cyber resilience following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It recommends that firms: review the National Cyber Security Centre...
Economic Crime Bill nears end of Commons stage
The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill is nearing the end of its stage in the Commons, and is at 3rd reading. 47 pages worth of amendments have been tabled to date.
OFSI updates sanctions guidance for Russia
OFSI has published an update to its financial sanctions guidance, specifically addressing the range of sanctions now introduced against Russia. The guidance explains the scope of the sanctions and available licensing...
FATF updates recommendation 24
At FATF’s latest meeting, it adopted amendments to Recommendation 24 and its interpretive note. The recommendation now requires a multi-pronged approach to the collection of beneficial ownership information...
FCA comments on Amigo Scheme proposal
FCA has published a letter that it wrote to Amigo Loans confirming that it does not plan to attend the hearing to oppose the proposed Scheme of Arrangement. It thinks the new proposals are preferable to the ones in the...
Sanctions and economic crime update 4 March
Late on 3 March and on 4 March: FCDO and OFSI confirmed the extension of sanctions to Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Igor Shuvalov; and BEIS published an updated factsheet on the register of overseas entities;...
FCA consults on miscellaneous rule changes
FCA’s latest quarterly consultation covers: proposed changes to PERG in respect of the MiFID 2 ancillary activities test; making collective investment portfolio managers subject to the same research and inducement...
Read our article on overseas entities register
We have written an article giving more detail on the proposals in the Economic Crime Bill finally to implement the registry of beneficial ownership information for foreign entities holding property in the UK, and the...
UK to target provision of insurance to Russian companies with next sanctions round
The new round of UK economic sanctions will prevent Russian companies in the aviation and space industry from accessing the UK insurance sector. The measures will apply to insurance and reinsurance services accessed...
FCA notes impact of invasion of Ukraine on financial markets
FCA has noted the multiple impacts that financial markets will feel following the Russian invasion of Ukraine itself and the wide range of sanctions imposed by numerous jurisdictions on Russia, Russian individuals and...
PRA speaks on insurance supervisory priorities
Charlotte Gerken of the PRA has spoken of its supervisory priorities for the sector during 2022. She looked at: climate change diversity and inclusion operational resilience: she commented in particular that, in...
Transparency International comments on economic crime measures
Transparency International has welcomed that publication of the Economic Crime Bill as an opportunity to be a major boost to Britain’s defences against illicit wealth. However, there are some things it thinks...
Treasury publishes prudential consultation outcome
Treasury has published the outcome of its consultation on implementation of the IFPR and Basel 3. The latest update looks at how to amend the definition of “investment firm” in s48D Banking Act 2009 to...
Finance Act 2022 gets Royal Assent
The Finance Act 2022 has achieved Royal Assent, and includes the economic crime levy. It sets out: the powers of FCA, HMRC and the Gambling Commission to collect it; how to assess whether a person is subject to the...
ASA successfully challenges crypto ads
The ASA challenged an ad for Floki Inu, a cryptocurrency, which was made via a poster displayed on the Tube in November 2021. The poster had a cartoon dog in a Viking helmet with text saying “Missed Doge. Get...
FCA updates on SCA expectations
FCA has updated its webpage on SCA to explain the changes to the SCA-RTS in respect of the new exemption that means customers will not need to reauthenticate when accessing account information through a TPP, if ASPSPs...
Sanctions updates from 2 March
On 2 March, various UK government agencies and regulators released a number of statements and extra measures brought in on 1 March: the PSR announced that is was working with all relevant agencies to help make sure the...
Treasury responds on mini-bonds
Treasury has published its response to the consultation on the regulation of mini-bonds (or NTDS – non-transferable debt securities). Most respondents agreed the instruments should be brought into regulation, but...
OFSI updates asset freeze lists
OFSI has updated its list of all asset freeze targets and has also published separately an updated list of persons named in relation to financial and investment restrictions related to Russia, together with guidance on...
Government publishes economic crime combatting measures
As promised, the Government has published: The draft Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill; a factsheet on the Register of Overseas Entities; and a white paper on corporate transparency and register reform...
Economic Crime Bill, Register of Overseas Entities and Companies House reform – at last
The Home Office has announced it is to bring forwards a new Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill on 1 March. The bill is to help NCA prevent foreign owners from laundering money in UK property and to make...
FCA fines Barclays over collapsed payment firm oversight
FCA has fined Barclays £783,800 for oversight failings in its relationship with Premier FX, a payments firm which is in liquidation. Barclays was Premier’s sole UK banker. FCA found that Barclays failed to make...
OFSI updates Russian sanctions
Unsurprisingly, OFSI is constantly updating the sanctions lists in respect of Russia. On 24 and 25 February it updated the list of designated persons, which as at 25 February ran to 190 individuals and 59...
Ombudsman News features data, diversity and storm damage
The latest edition of Ombudsman News features items on the latest complaints data and the FOS diversity, inclusion and wellbeing reports featured in other posts, and also notes that FOS often sees complaints from...
Dormant Assets Act gets Royal Assent
The Dormant Assets Act got Royal Assent on 24 February, The Act expands the scope of “dormant assets” that has encompassed cash in bank and building society accounts since 2008 to include a greater range of...
Employment tribunal orders reinstatement of dismissed trader
An employment tribunal has determined an application for reinstatement in Bradley Jones v JP Morgan Securities plc in favour of the applicant. Mr Jones was a financial analyst and cash equities trader employed by JPM...
FCA Portfolio letter to credit rating agencies
FCA has published a portfolio letter setting out the risks of harm in the credit rating agency sector, and its regulatory expectations. This is the first of its letters aimed at the sector, which it supervises under the...
FCA reinforces sanctions expectations
In the light of the tranche of sanctions imposed on Russia, FCA has reminded firms it expects them to have established systems and controls to counter the risk they they might be used to further financial crime, and...
New courses for compliance professionals
We are excited to have agreed with the Compliance Register to present at several key courses over the coming months. We will be presenting on: financial crime prevention SMCR the regulatory regime financial promotions...
OFSI updates sanctions
OFSI has published a new set of financial sanctions relating to Russia, effective from 22 February, together with updated guidance. It amended existing entries in relation to 2 entities and added 5 more entities and 3...
FCA comments on crypto-provider controllers
FCA has commented on recent statements made by Bitpanda announcing its acquisition of Trustology Limited. It comments that the acquisition has made Bitpanda (an EU digital assets service provider) the new beneficial...
Parliament publishes UWO briefing
The House of Commons Library has published a briefing paper on unexplained wealth orders. The paper looks at the background to the introduction of UWOs in the Criminal Finances Act 2017, and says that only 9 orders have...
Report says single market for investment funds not working
A report from the European Court of Auditors says that not all the ambition of the EU investment funds single market directives has been achieved. It says cross-border activities are still rate, supervision across...
OFSI updates penalties table
OFSI has updated its table of penalties imposed for breach of financial sanctions restrictions and requirements to include a fine imposed over a year ago, but just publicised, The payment services provider in question...
Amended MLD4 high risk list published in OJEU
The new list of High Risk third countries for the purposes of EU AML legislation has been published in the Official Journal. Burkina Faso, the Cayman Islands, Haiti, Jordan, Mali, Morocco, the Philippines, Senegal and...
JMLSG confirms syndicated lending update
JMLSG has published the finalised revisions to the syndicated lending chapter in Part II of its guidance, following its December 2021 consultation. The new content confirmed that in a low risk scenario, each lender will...
FCA warns “no change of control without approval”
FCA has updated its website to highlight the consequences of the significant increase in change in control notifications it is currently receiving. It is currently taking around 2 months for FCA to allocate a case...
EU Council opines on AML measures
The Council of the EU has published opinions on the proposals for an AML Authority and the proposals for AMLR1 and AMLD6. The ECB has welcomed the package, and is ready to cooperate with the AMLA. It notes the criteria...
Tribunal considers crypto registration refusal
The Upper Tribunal has considered the FCA’s decision not to register Gidiplus Limited under the MLRs and the firm’s application for a suspension application to allow it to continue business pending an appeal...
MLR changes made in respect of trusts
Changes to the MLRs that take effect on 9 March will extend various deadlines in respect of beneficial ownership of trusts, and to amend the lists of excluded trusts. The main deadline for registration of relevant...
FCA updates on GI value measures
FCA has updated its webpage on general insurance value reporting to clarify what firms are expected to report in respect of legal expenses and vehicle breakdown products. For these products, firms are not required to...
FCA finalises Part VII conduct expectations guidance
FCA has published an updated version of its guidance on how it approaches a review of Part VII insurance business transfers. The update, which FCA consulted on last July, gives clarity on some points, and has been...
FCA gets BNPL firms to change contract terms
FCA has secured voluntary agreement from Clearpay, Klarna, Laybuy and Openpay to make changes to terms in their contracts. Although FCA does not yet regulate the contracts, it used its powers under the Consumer Rights...
Treasury publishes summary of UK funds regime responses
Treasury has published a summary of the responses it received to its call for input on the UK funds regime and what the next steps will be. Following comments, the government and FCA will put forward a number of new...
FCA speaks on capital market enhancement
Sarah Pritchard has spoken on FCA’s role and priorities in enhancing the UK’s capital markets. She focused on FCA’s transformation plan and how this would affect the way it regulates. It has welcomed...
Parliament launches new UK-EU financial services inquiry
Parliament has launched an inquiry to establish: the impact of Brexit so far on the financial services sector; the future of financial services trade with the EU in the absence of equivalence; and the impact of...
FCA publishes 2021 fin proms data
FCA has published its analysis of its data from 2021 relating to action it took against authorised firms breaching financial promotion rules. Key conclusions included: an increase in amendment and withdrawal of...
Treasury Committee calls for urgent economic crime measures
The Treasury Committee has published its long awaited report on Economic Crime. It is concerned that the Economic Crime Plan has not been as effective as hoped, and says the need for additional funding can’t just...
Treasury and OFSI update on penalties for sanctions breaches
Treasury and OFSI have published updated guidance on monetary penalties for breaching financial sanctions. The guidance applies from 28 January 2022 and applies to all case where OFSI becomes aware of a potential breach...
FOS looks at current initiatives
The latest edition of Ombudsman News reminds firms there is still time to respond to its consultation on its plan and budget, and at its wider work, including the wider implications framework and how it is working on...
FCA explains multiple-occupancy buildings insurance work
FCA has written to CEOs of insurance firms and brokers explaining the work it is carrying out in the insurance market for multiple-occupancy residential buildings. FCA wants to ensure residential leaseholders get...
ESMA consults on MiFID 2 suitability
ESMA is reviewing its guidelines on the MiFID 2 suitability requirement, with a view to updating them in respect of sustainability. It is looking particularly at collecting client information on sustainability...
Regulators work to transform data collection
FCA is working with the BoE and the industry to transform how regulators collect data from the financial sector. FCA recognises the burdens of regulatory reporting and it finds that the data it receives is not always of...
2021 CPI shows little change in worldwide corruption levels
Transparency International has published the 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index, which shows a worldwide standstill on corruption levels. It is disappointed that the average score on the index is 43 (with 100 being the...
PRA calls for technical input on insurance stress test
PRA will be conducting an insurance stress test in both life and general insurance markets from May 2022. It is seeking, by 17 March, feedback on any aspect of the stress tests, and has published updated scenarios with...
CMA publishes updated governance arrangements for Open Banking
CMA has published amended arrangements setting out the composition, governance, budget and funding arrangements for the Open Banking Implementation Entity, following last year’s reports on the lack of appropriate...
FCA publishes 2022 retail banking model update
FCA has published its 2022 final report on competition in retail banking business models, following on from its 2018 reports. As a result of the 2018 reports there were a number of regulatory changes, specifically to...
FCA updates competition powers guidance
FCA has updated its guidance on its competition powers and procedures. The guidance needed updating partly following Brexit and also to include FCA’s powers in relation to claims management and certain procedural...
FCA to impose requirements on non-compliant API
FCA has published its first supervisory notice of its intent to require an API authorised to provide money remittance services to cease doing so without prior written approval. It wants Probitas to cease all business...
OFSI and FCDO update on new look sanctions lists
OFSI has published a format guide for the Consolidated List of Designated Persons, while the FCDO has published samples of the new-look list in various formats.
FCA reminds TPR firms to meet its standards or face action
FCA has updated its website to remind firms under the TPR that they must comply with relevant rules, or else they may be asked to stop undertaking new business and have their permissions removed. Similarly, firms who...
Treasury to make rules on misleading crypto ads
Treasury has confirmed that the Government plans to legislate to address misleading cryptoasset promotions. It proposes to do so by brining the promotion of cryptoassets within the scope of financial promotions...
Government consults on CCP and CSD regulation
Treasury is consulting on how the future regulatory framework should look for central counterparties and central securities depositories. It follows up on a commitment to look at whether changes should be made in the...
Parliament launches commercial insurance inquiry
The Industry and Regulators Committee has published a call for evidence for a new inquiry into commercial insurance and reinsurance regulation. It is asking for evidence by 11 February on the roles of the regulators and...
FOS responds on action plan
The Treasury Committee has published a response from FOS, received in December, answering various questions the Committee had posed about FOS’ action plan. The letter addresses several issues, including: the...
FCDO publishes first UK annual sanctions report
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has published the UK annual sanctions report for 2021, which is the first report to detail the full extent of the UK’s autonomous sanctions since Brexit. In the...
Parliament publishes report on central bank digital currencies
The Economic Affairs Committee has published its report on the potential for the UK to have a central bank digital currency. It has concluded that there’s no convincing case to have one. Although there could be...
FCA updates on skilled persons reviews
FCA has published the figures for the skilled persons reviews commissioned in October – December 2021. There were 12 in total, of which 4 were on retail banking and payments firms and 3 on investment management...
PRA updates insurance business transfer SoP
PRA has published its feedback on responses to its consultation in CP 16/21 on insurance business transfers, and has published an updated Statement of Policy. There were not many respondents, and those who responded...