The FCA has announced that Bank of Scotland has been fined £45,500,000 (reduced by 30% from what would have been a £65 million fine) for its failures to be open and cooperative with the regulator. The FCA’s...
Author - Roseyna Jahangir
Roseyna Jahangir
EBA announces conditional ‘grace period’ for PSD2 SCA RTS compliance
Much of the payments industry has been taxed greatly by the issue of both interpreting and implementing compliance with the prescriptive requirements of the PSD2 SCA RTS. The deadline for compliance with these...
ABI comments on ‘loyalty penalty’ issue
In a recent speech, the Director General of the ABI noted that, amid the current government and regulatory focus on this issue, member firms have committed to a set of Guiding Principles and Action Points for GI Pricing...
IOSCO Cyber Task Force report urges financial market regulators and firms to enhance approach to Cyber risks
The Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions has published the Final Report of its Cyber Task Force. This report is intended be a resource for financial market regulators and firms to raise...
Solvency II amended Delegated Regulation published in OJ
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/981 was published in the OJ on 18 June 2019. This Delegated Regulation amends the Solvency II Delegated Regulation in a number of respects primarily relating to capital and risk. It will...
Consumer FinanceConsumer InsuranceEnforcement & LitigationPayment Services & Electronic MoneyRetail Banking
CMA may be given enhanced powers to impose fines for consumer law breaches
The government has announced that it will consult on whether the CMA should be given the power to fine businesses directly if they have breached consumer law, for example through the ‘loyalty penalty’ and...
PRA feeds back on fees and levies
PRA has published its policy statement on proposed rates for 2019/2020. It will be implementing the proposals unchanged, and its updated rules and supervisory statement will take effect on 1 July.
PRA writes on risks of fast growing firms
PRA has written a Dear CEO letter relating to what it calls “fast growing firms”. These comprise 20 non-systemic deposit taking firms which have different business models and activities, most of which show...
CRR II and CRD V published in OJEU
CRR II and CRD V appeared in the OJEU on 7 June, together with BRRD II and the SRM II Regulation. The measures, adopted in May, are all part of the banking reform package proposed by the European Commission in late...
PRA proposes minor form changes
PRA’s latest Occasional Consultation Paper proposes minor changes to miscellaneous Rulebook Parts, Supervisory Statements and templates and LOG files in respect of: Solvency II: The quality of capital instruments...
IOSCO publishes recommendations for sustainable finance in emerging markets
The Growth and Emerging Market Committee of IOSCO’s report is directed at securities regulators and makes 10 recommendations for emerging market jurisdictions to consider when issuing regulations or guidance for...
Treasury Committee announces inquiry into decarbonisation of the UK Economy and Green Finance
The Treasury Committee has announced an inquiry that will look at the respective roles of HMT, regulators and financial service firms in supporting the government’s climate change commitment. The terms of...
FOS responds to Treasury Committee ‘mortgage prisoners’ concerns
The Treasury Committee continues to pursue its concerns regarding what is being done or can be done for ‘mortgage prisoners’. These are people who took out mortgages when lending rules were less prescriptive...
PRA and FCA impose £1.89m fine for outsourcing failures
The PRA and FCA have imposed a joint fine on Raphaels Bank following an investigation in to the cause and consequence of an IT incident in December 2015. The incident occurred by a failure of services provided by a sub...
AG Opinion published on early settlement charges under CCD
The Opinion of the Attorney General has been published in a case referred by the Polish courts to the ECJ on the interpretation of article 16 of the CCD. The question regarded whether the calculation of the reduction...
FSB continues work to address decline in correspondent banking
The FSB has published an update on its ongoing work to address the decline in correspondent banking that has emerged in recent years. The latest report notes that the number of active correspondent banks reduced by 3.4%...
US and UK announce Financial Innovation Partnership
The US Department of the Treasury and HM Treasury are starting a partnership to increase collaboration between the UK and the US on financial services. The FIP will encourage the exchange of information on emerging...
ESMA updates MiFID II and MiFIR Q&As
The ESMA has published new Q&As on the implementation of investor protection topics, which address best execution and information on costs and charges.
EBA reports on 2018 work
The EBA has published its Annual Report for 2018. The Report records the key areas of focus for the EBA in 2018, in particular the development and maintenance of the single rulebook, and the work on payments and the...
EC clarifies scope of PRIIPs regulation to bonds
Following a request for guidance in July 2018 on the treatment of bonds under the PRIIPs regulation, the EC has reiterated that the assessment of whether a particular bond is a PRIIP or not must be performed on a case...
FSB publishes LEI implementation review
Following the launch of its peer review of LEIs in August last year, the FSB has now published the outcome of this review. Overall, the review found that take up of LEIs was patchy, being most concentrated in...
IOSCO consults on Crypto-Asset Trading Platforms
The Board of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions has published a consultation report on Crypto-Asset Trading Platforms which trade crypto-assets that have been categorised as securities. The...
FCA feedback on conduct questions for wholesale banks
The FCA has published its feedback to the ‘5 Conduct Questions‘ that it asks wholesale banks on an annual basis. The purpose of these questions is to help firms improve their conduct risk management and...
PRA framework for climate change risk management
Earlier this year, the PRA published PS11/19 and SS319 on ‘Enhancing banks’ and insurers’ approaches to managing the financial risks from climate change’. Following on from this, they have now published a...
EU Council adopts updated rules for financial derivative products and clearing
The EU Council has adopted a new regulation, amending the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (648/2012), that will address the transparency issues, insufficient access to clearing and disproportionate complicated...
FCA starts intergenerational finance debate
FCA has published a discussion paper on intergenerational differences, looking at the changing needs of financial services consumers depending on their age. It feels the time is right to reassess pre-conceptions about...
Treasury publishes digital economy responses
Treasury had published a summary of the responses it received to its consultation on cash and digital payments in the new economy, which closed last year. It received 218 responses. Key themes are: the government...
EBA supervisory colleges 2018 Report published
The EBA’s report sets out its findings on the monitoring of supervisory colleges in 2018. It noted in particular that AML and counter terrorism financing is increasingly on the agendas of the supervisory...
Mastercard and Visa to lower interchange fees for payments in Europe
The European Commission has announced that Mastercard and Visa have made binding commitments to reduce interchange fees charged for payments in Europe to customers with consumer debit and credit cards issued outside the...
EIOPA issues stress test Recommendations to NCAs
Following analysis of the 2018 Insurance Stress Test results, EIOPA has issued recommendations to National Competent Authorities to address identified vulnerabilities. Analysis was done at individual group level. ...
FCA publishes enforcement and supervision ‘Approach’ documents
Following consultations in March 2018, the FCA has published its ‘Approach to Supervision‘ and ‘Approach to Enforcement‘ papers. The Supervision paper describes the FCA’s role in promoting...
Policy and Supervisory Statements on climate change financial risks published
The PRA has published PS11/19 and SS3/19 on ‘Enhancing banks’ and insurers’ approaches to managing the financial risks from climate change’. These statements are intended to steer firms towards...
CRD V, BRRD and SRMR packages approved by European Parliament
The European Parliament has approved the above series of legislative measures designed to enhance the resilience of banks and reduce risks in the banking system. The measures will next go to the European Council for...
UK insurance stress test feedback request
As the PRA prepares to conduct a stress test exercise, it has written to firms and industry participants to ask for feedback. The exercise will involve the largest life and general insurers, and run from Monday 1 July...
EU launches new fintech platform forum
The European Commission and ESAs have announced the launch of the European Forum for Innovation Facilitators (EFIF). There are currently 21 innovation hubs and 5 regulatory sandboxes in the EU, and the regulators want...
FCA updates on Access to Insurance
FCA has issued an update on its work following its call for input on access to insurance in respect of travel insurance for those who have or have had cancer, and its subsequent feedback statement. Since the 2018...
EBA PSD2 API working group publishes second set of clarifications
The EBA has published the second set of responses to issues raised by its Working Group on PSD2 APIs. These issues relate to: API performance and support, the identification of Third Party Providers (TPP) that are...
Treasury asks permission to back EU risks reduction package
HM Treasury has written to the House of Lords European Committee and the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee to request clearance to vote in favour of amendments to the BRRD, CRD and CRR. The reform package is...
EIOPA reviews InsurTech authorisation in the EU
EIOPA has published a report on current authorising and licensing approaches to financial innovation, including InsurTech startups and peer-to-peer insurance. The report identified that while the EU market for InsurTech...
EIOPA to prepare guidelines on outsourcing to cloud service providers
As part of its response to the European Commission’s FinTech Action Plan, EIOPA has published a report setting out: a summary of the current NSA work on cloud computing, an analysis of the current EU (re)insurance...
HM TREASURY PUBLISHES FINDINGS ON FSA SUPERVISION OF CO-OP BANK PLC
HM Treasury has published the findings of an independent review into the prudential supervision of the Co-Operative Bank between 2008 – 2013. The findings of the report were balanced, but did identify possible...
Commercial BankingConductConsumer FinanceFintech & InnovationFundsInsuranceInvestmentsPayment Services & Electronic MoneyPensionsRetail Banking
FCA looks at life beyond Brexit
In a speech on Brexit delivered by Nausicaa Delfas, Executive Director of International, the FCA reminded firms that the deadline for notifications under the temporary permissions regime is 28 March 2019. Firms that...
Commercial BankingConductEnforcement & LitigationFinancial Crime PreventionFundsInsuranceInvestmentsPensionsRegulated MortgagesRetail Banking
Europe reaches political agreement on reforms to EU supervision
The European Parliament and Member States have reached agreement on core elements of the reform of European supervision of financial markets, including strengthening the supervisory framework in the area of anti-money...
Insurance firms to be required to provide Civil Liability Act reforms costs information
HM Treasury is consulting on draft regulations to require certain firms that sell third party personal injury insurance policies to provide certain information to the FCA. The information will be used by the Government...
EBA agrees form of MoU between European and UK supervisors
As part of the no-deal Brexit preparations, the Board of Supervisors of the EBA have confirmed that a template MoU has been agreed with the FCA and PRA. If there is a no-deal Brexit, this template will be used as the...
FCA imposes £27.6 million fine for transaction reporting failures
The FCA has fined UBS AG for transaction reporting failures during the period November 2007 to May 2017. The FCA reported that a total of 135.8 million errors in reporting were made during this period. It queried...
CMA’s Loyalty Penalty Working Group terms of reference published
Following work by both the FCA and the CMA, and the ‘loyalty penalty’ super-complaint, the CMA has published the terms of reference of its recently convened Loyalty Penalty Working Group (LPWG). The LPWG...
BIS reports on central bank digital currencies
The BIS Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures and the Markets Committee have published a joint report central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The report sets out the findings of research conducted by the...
Debt management sector: second FCA thematic review published
The FCA has published TR19/01, the second set of findings of its review of the debt management sector. The focus of this review was firms that provide debt advice and administer debt management plans, on a for- or a not...
No-deal for the insurance sector – a look across Europe
We have written a short article on the pan-European view, and the views in certain key jurisdictions in the EU, on the effects of no-deal Brexit on the insurance regulation.
EBA Working Group on PSD2 APIs: first set of clarifications published
Following the first meeting of the EBA Working Group on APIs under PSD2, the EBA has published the first set of issues identified and consequent clarifications. The issues relate to the testing environment mandated by...
FCA publishes research on consumer attitudes to cryptoassets
The FCA has published a survey and qualitative research they commissioned to examine UK consumer attitudes to cryptoassets. Although the research revealed a prevailing lack of understanding about cryptoassets, it also...
FCA reviews credit card fees and charges
The FCA has written to credit card firms to request they review their policies and procedures in relation to fees and charges, to ensure they result in fair consumer outcomes and comply with CONC. The letter follows the...
Access to Cash Review published
The Final Report of the Access to Cash Review (Report) has been published. The objective of this review was to consider consumer requirements for cash over the next five to fifteen years, to ensure there those...
Insurance MoUs agreed between BoE, FCA, EIOPA and EU supervisors
The UK supervisory authorities have agreed memoranda of understanding with European counterparts, to facilitate the coordinated supervision of insurance entities in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The MoUs cover...
Consumer CreditFintech & InnovationFundsInsuranceInvestmentsPayment Services & Electronic MoneyPensionsRegulated MortgagesRetail Banking
EU agrees draft directive to enhance consumer protection
The EU has agreed the terms of a draft directive that, if passed, will amend a number of consumer protection directives, including the consumer rights directive (2011/83/EU), to introduce measures such as: harmonised...
Commercial BankingConductConsumer CreditEnforcement & LitigationFinancial Crime PreventionFintech & InnovationFundsInsuranceInvestmentsPayment Services & Electronic MoneyPensionsRegulated MortgagesRetail Banking
BoE and FCA update on Brexit approach
BoE and FCA have updated their respective websites with coordinated information on their approach to a hard Brexit. BoE has published a series of materials setting out its updated plans to its supervisory approach to a...
Paper published on supervision of insurers’ corporate guidance
The International Association of Insurance Supervisors has published an Application Paper on Proactive Supervision of Corporate Governance. The paper sets out principles and practices to support supervisors in their...
Commercial BankingFundsInsuranceInvestmentsPayment Services & Electronic MoneyPensionsRetail Banking
FCA renews call for firms to prepare for Brexit
The FCA has published sector-specific information to help regulated firms ensure they are prepared for the consequences of Brexit, including a no-deal Brexit. The guidance covers banking and payments, life insurance...
EU agrees regulatory framework for investment firms
The Council and the European Parliament have agreed the terms of a regulation and directive setting out prudential and supervisory measures that will apply to investment firms. The new requirements will apply to the...
US and UK authorities agree measures to secure derivatives trading and clearing activities post-Brexit
The Bank of England, FCA and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have confirmed that they will ensure that firms will be able to continue engage in derivatives trading and clearing activities through the...
Revised Guidelines on outsourcing published by EBA
The EBA has published a revision to the Committee of European Banking Supervisors’ 2006 Guidelines on outsourcing arrangements. The revised guidelines take into account and are consistent with CRD IV, MiFID II...
Final report on wholesale insurance broker market study published by FCA
Following the initiation of its market study into the wholesale insurance brokers market in November 2017, the FCA has now published its final report. The focus of the market study was on the following five areas: the...
Commission prepares to review Solvency II
Under the Solvency II Directive, the Commission is required to review certain areas covered by the Directive by 2020. Accordingly, the Commission has sent EIOPA a formal request for technical advice on the review of the...
ESMA confirms three UK CCPs can be recognised to provide services to the EU
ESMA has announced that, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, LCH Limited, ICE Clear Europe Limited and LME Clear Limited will be recognised as equivalent. The confirmation of equivalence for the purposes of EMIR follows...
European Parliament votes to abolish high costs for cross border payments within EU
The European Parliament has approved new rules to prohibit high charges on cross-currency payments within the EU. The new rules will mean that charges for cross-border payments in the single euro payments area (SEPA)...
Bank of England publishes Financial Markets Infrastructures Annual Report and supporting video
In its capacity as supervisor of financial market infrastructure (FMI) firms, the Bank of England has published its Annual Report, providing an overview this sector in 2018 and future developments and priorities for...
Financial Stability Board 2019 work programme published
The Financial Stability Board has published its work programme for the forthcoming year. The areas upon which it intends to focus are: addressing emerging vulnerabilities in the financial system; working with standard...
ESMA issues statement on derivatives reporting upon ‘no deal’ Brexit
ESMA has published information on how derivatives data that must be reported under EMIR should be handled in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit. ESMA’s statement sets out expectations in relation to:...
FCA publishes rules and guidance for payment services and e-money sectors
Following its consultation on general standards and communication rules for payment services and e-money sectors, the FCA has now published final rules and guidance on, among other matters, the extension of the...
‘Global sandbox’ pilot invites applications
A group of 29 international regulators and bodies, including the FCA, has opened a cross-border pilot sandbox. Applicants that want to test innovative products and services across international markets are invited to...
FCA publishes call to action for firms to prepare for no-deal Brexit
Under draft legislation published by the Treasury, the FCA and the PRA are to be given temporary powers to make transitional provisions, in order to ensure that most firms and other regulated entities’ day to day...
Commercial BankingConsumer CreditEnforcement & LitigationFundsInsuranceInvestmentsPayment Services & Electronic MoneyPensionsRegulated MortgagesRetail Banking
FCA agrees Brexit MoUs with European securities regulators
As part of the preparation for a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, the FCA has agreed MoUs with ESMA and with EU and NCAs, covering supervision, enforcement and information exchange, including in relation to credit rating...
BoE and ESMA agree MoU
As part of the Brexit preparations, the BoE and ESMA have published an MoU setting out cooperation and information-sharing arrangements in relation to CCPs and CSDs. This agreement, and the adoption by the EC of...
ESMA publishes 2019 Regulatory Work Programme
ESMA has published its Regulatory Work Programme for 2019, setting out ESMA’s Single Rulebook work. The matters it is working on for the forthcoming year include: Post-trading RTS under EMIR; RTS relating to...
FCA publishes updated rules and guidance for fund managers
As part of its follow up work to its asset management market study, the FCA has published new rules and guidance to help asset managers and customers understand more about how funds are being managed. The new provisions...
European venture capital funds & social entrepreneurship funds delegated regulations published
The European Commission has adopted delegated regulations under the EuSEF Regulation (346/2013) and the EuVECA Regulation (345/2013). These Regulations respectively introduced measures to allow venture capital funds to...
FCA and FRC focus on encouraging effective stewardship
The FCA is working with the the FRC to set out proposals and a discussion paper encouraging asset managers and others managing investments to take a closer interest in the operation of the businesses in which they...
FCA consults on reporting requirements for General Insurance firms
The FCA is inviting views on proposals to require firms to report certain value measures data on a wide range of GI products. This consultation follows the identification of issues of poor value in the GI market, and a...
PSR publishes TOR for card-acquiring services review
The PSR has published its final terms of reference for its market review into the supply of card-acquiring services. the review will look at a variety of issues including how merchants buy the services, whether there...
ISDA updates Brexit FAQs
ISDA has published an updated webpage with FAQs on the impact of Brexit on ISDA documentation.
SMCR optimisation consultation
As the FCA prepares for the extension of SMCR to most solo-regulated firms next December, it is consulting on a few areas regarding the existing regime for banks and large insurers previously identified as wanting...
FCA Cryptoassets consultation published
The FCA is consulting on draft guidance on activities that the FCA regulates in this area. Noting that this is an area in which investor activity is on the increase, and where there is still uncertainty about where the...
Commercial BankingConductConsumer CreditEnforcement & LitigationFinancial Crime PreventionFintech & InnovationFundsInsuranceInvestmentsPayment Services & Electronic MoneyPensionsRegulated MortgagesRetail Banking
New Financial Services head at Womble Bond Dickinson
We are delighted that Jonny Williams has joined the financial services regulatory team at Womble Bond Dickinson UK.
More information on Jonny and his appointment can be found here.
New FCA portal for mutual societies
The FCA has launched a new portal to enable mutual societies complete tasks and submit information to the FCA that was previously done online or by post, such as the submission of annual rules and accounts and...
Evaluation of Consumer Credit Directive
The European Commission has opened a consultation to invite views from a range of stakeholders on the functioning of the Consumer Credit Directive (CCD). The purpose of the evaluation is to consider whether the CCD is...
UK Finance wants to stay in SEPA
UK Finance has applied on behalf of the UK to stay in SEPA. SEPA is operated by the EPC outside the EU institutional framework. UK Finance says the SEPA community would support it staying, and its own members want to...
Commercial BankingConsumer CreditFintech & InnovationFundsInsuranceInvestmentsPayment Services & Electronic MoneyPensionsRegulated MortgagesRetail Banking
FCA consults on Brexit contractual continuity provision
At the end of last year, the the Treasury published draft regulations making provision for contractual certainty for firms currently passporting into the UK in the event of a ‘hard’ Brexit. Following this...
FCA opens window for CMCs to register for temporary permission
In December 2018, the FCA confirmed that as part of its take over of the regulation of CMCs from April 2019, it would require CMCs to register for temporary permission in order to continue to operate from April, and...
EIOPA publishes Opinion on supervision of cross-border non-life insurance
EIOPA has published an Opinion on the supervision of cross-border non-life insurance where the risk is of a long term nature. In the Opinion, EIOPA notes that this type of insurance is often more uncertain than the...
Commercial BankingConsumer CreditFundsInsuranceInvestmentsPayment Services & Electronic MoneyPensionsRegulated MortgagesRetail Banking
PRA consults on Brexit measures
As part of its preparation for onshoring EU legislation, the PRA has published CP32/18. This consultation paper contains two consultations: the first sets out the PRA’s proposals regarding the PRA Rulebook and...
FCA consults on SCA post-Brexit
FCA is consulting on how it proposes to make technical standards which are substantially the same as the PSD2 SCA RTS to ensure strong customer authentication and common and secure open standards of communication post...
Bank of England and PRA consult on resolvability measures
The BoE and the PRA have published consultation papers on resolvability and resolution assessments for certain firms. PRA CP31/18 sets out proposed rules that would require relevant firms to report to the PRA on their...
EBA and ESMA urge firms to communicate with customers regarding Brexit
The EBA has issued a press release that urges firms with customers that may be affected by Brexit to be more proactive in communicating with their customers about how they may be affected. In particular customers...
FCA publishes guidance for social landlords
The FCA has published final guidance for social landlords to help them understand when they may be acting as a credit broker in the course of assisting tenants find lower cost credit providers. FG18/6 will assist such...
FCA publishes feedback and further consultation regarding catalogue and store credit
Earlier this year, the FCA published CP18/12, which proposed measures to reduce consumer harm and strengthen protections for customers of home-collected credit, catalogue credit and store cards. Following this, the FCA...
FCA publishes Retail Banking Final Report
As an early Christmas present, the FCA has published its Final Report into retail banking models. The review into this sector was launched in April 2017, and the FCA published an interim Progress Report in June 2018...
FCA consults on tacking bank overdraft charges
As part of its ongoing work to tackle high cost credit, the FCA has announced proposals to restrict the charges banks are able to impose for overdrafts. The FCA is proposing a package of measures that include stopping...
Commercial BankingConsumer CreditFintech & InnovationFundsInsuranceInvestmentsPayment Services & Electronic MoneyPensionsRegulated MortgagesRetail Banking
FCA publishes final rules on expansion of FOS jurisdiction to SMEs
The FCA has now published final rules confirming the expansion of the jurisdiction of the FOS to include certain SME customers. The new rules will mean that from 1 April 2019, the FOS will be able to hear complaints...
Consumer CreditEnforcement & LitigationFinancial Crime PreventionFintech & InnovationFundsInsuranceInvestmentsPayment Services & Electronic MoneyPensionsRegulated MortgagesRetail Banking
FOS consults on plans for 2019/20
The FOS has published a consultation on its plans and budget for 2019/2020. It notes that from April 2019, its jurisdiction will be expanded by the addition of two significant areas of work: complaints made by SME...