Roseyna JahangirIn a recent speech, Christopher Woolard of the FCA considered three lenses through which the FCA views the issues relating to AI: what are new, and what are existing issues; how to ensure that AI creates value for...
Category - Topics
ESMA consults on harmonisation of performance fees under UCITS Directive
ESMA has published draft guidelines addressing the way in which performance fees can be charged to a UCITS and its investors. The areas covered by the draft guidelines include the circumstances in which a performance...
FCA announces money laundering conviction in insider dealing link
Reporting restrictions have been lifted such that FCA has finally been able to confirm a conviction it secured against Richard Baldwin in 2017 for dealing in criminal property. The property was related to FCA’s...
Jonny WilliamsGovernment publishes economic crime plan
The Government, in conjunction with UK Finance, has published its 2019-2022 economic crime plan, setting out how it proposes to progress the priorities agreed by the Economic Crime Strategy Board in January. The key...
Emma RadmoreESMA warns CFD providers on undesirable practices
ESMA is still concerned about firms that market, distribute or sell CFDs to retail clients. It has now published a warning to them, saying it is particularly worried about: encouraging retail clients to ask to opt up to...
The Government responds to the Treasury Committee Report on Consumers’ Access to Financial Services
The Government’s response to the Treasury Committee report was published on 11th July. The document sets out the Government’s response to each of the report’s conclusions and recommendations. The key...
Caroline StevensonFunds amendment legislation published in OJ
The Regulation on cross-border distribution of collective investment undertakings and Directive amending the UCITS Directive and AIFMD have been published in the OJEU. Many of the provisions of the Regulation take...
Barry StimpsonInsurance broker banned for seven years for pension scheme negligence
An insurance broker has been banned from company directorships after failing to keep adequate records, not providing information to the tax authorities and not providing members of a pension scheme with up to date...
Gavin EllisonFCA Multi-firm review: Retail Banking: Business Continuity Planning
As part f this exercise, the FCA assessed Firms’ ability to: plan for and manage business continuity events implement business continuity contingencies including communications recover and return to normal service...
HMRC updates MLR appeals guidance
HMRC has updated its website with guidance on how to appeal against an HMRC decision, and how it sets penalties. The guidance explains what HMRC may levy penalties for, and what its remedies are. It also explains that...
ESMA updates MiFID 2 FAQs
ESMA has updated its FAQs on MiFID 2 and MiFIR in respect of investor protection and intermediaries. There is a new question on how to classify financial instruments under RTS 27 for best execution purposes when ESMA...
Court backs bank on account closure
A payment institution has failed in its action against RBS, after the bank closed the institution’s accounts with it and ended the banking relationship. The payment institution (P) was an FX and payment services...
Audrey KohFCA updates on SMCR final rules
FCA has still not made its final rules on the SMCR. It cannot do so until Treasury has published the necessary commencement order. FCA says it has been working with Treasury on this, and has agreed with it a later...
Consumer FinanceConsumer InsuranceInvestmentsPayment Services & Electronic MoneyPensionsRetail Banking
ESA evaluates cross-border supervision of retail financial services
A report published by the Joint Committee of European Supervisory Authorities, ie the EBA, ESMA and EIOPA, has reviewed the current landscape of cross-border supervision, in particular in the light of the regulatory...
BEIS review of Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations
The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has completed its 5 year review of the Consumer Contracts Regulations. While these regulations broadly exclude financial services, they may be engaged where...
Treasury publishes AML supervision report
Treasury has published its AML and CTF supervision report for 2017-18. The report highlights the UK’s FATF evaluation report – which it notes recognises the UK regime as the strongest assessed to date. But...
FCA publishes annual report
FCA’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2018/19 lists its highlights from the past year, and appends several reports from specific business focuses. FCA notes that alongside deciding over 4,000 applications for...
Treasury Committee wants action against forged signatures
Nicky Morgan has written to the FCA and NCA, asking them to engage with the Bank Signature Forgery Campaign to address the allegations that home repossession and similar documents are not being signed by the authorised...
FCA updates MLR registration page
FCA has updated its page giving guidance to firms that are not authorised but nevertheless require to be registered with FCA for the purposes of the MLRs (such as commercial lenders, financial leasing entities and own...
EBA evaluates FinTech’s impact on business models of payment and electronic money institutions
The EBA has published a thematic report evaluating the impact of FinTech on the payment institution (PI) and electronic money institutions’ (EMI) business models. The report reviews key trends and drivers in the...
Irish regulator fines bank for CRD IV failings
The Irish Central Bank has imposed a €5.9 million fine on Wells Fargo Bank International Unlimited Company for breaches of regulatory reporting and governance requirements under CRD IV, as implemented in Ireland. The...
EBA reports on POG guidance implementation
EBA has reported on how industry has implemented its Product Oversight and Governance arrangements guidelines. It found a mix of good and bad practices. Some of its criticisms were that: often the manufacturer’s...
FCA updates SMCR page
FCA has reminded solo-regulated firms that if they want to opt up to the Enhanced firm category, they must submit their Form K (which all Core and Enhanced firms must submit anyway) together with their Form O, by 24...
CMA censures Barclays for SME undertaking breach
CMA has censured Barclays, and directed it to pay £1,910.55 to affected SMEs for making them pay for accounts they did not need. The bank had bundled products together, which had the effect of preventing SME customers ...
UK Finance publishes payment account service guide
On 1 July, UK Finance published a voluntary good practice guide to help credit institutions providing access to payment account services and those seeking to access such accounts. The guide recommends that: all relevant...
FCA reviews non-bank PSP safeguarding
FCA has carried out a review of the safeguarding arrangements of 11 non-bank PSPs. It wanted to see how well they complied with the requirements of the EMRs and PSRs and found both good and bad practices. Among its key...
Consumer FinanceFintech & InnovationInsuranceInvestmentsPayment Services & Electronic MoneyRetail Banking
CMA launches digital advertising market study
The CMA has launched a study into online platforms and digital advertising. The study will focus on harm caused by consumers in connection with three areas of digital advertising: the extent online platforms (such as...
Roseyna JahangirFCA considers ban on sale of crypto-derivatives to retail consumers
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...
Angie BamboulisFCA speaks on regulating innovation
Christopher Woolard has spoken on regulating financial innovation. He explained how valuable early engagement is, and how working with innovative firms helps FCA to get a good bird’s eye view of what it should...
FOS consults on funding
FOS is consulting on its future funding model. It says it is looking forward to a time when it is not dominated by PPI, and is looking at how it should: rebalance the proportion of income it gets from its levy as...
Treasury creates RAO exemption for social landlords
A new exclusion from the regulated activity of credit broking will cover registered social landlords who introduce individuals to credit unions, community benefit societies, community interest companies limited by...
Commercial BankingConsumer FinanceFintech & InnovationFundsInsuranceInvestmentsPayment Services & Electronic MoneyPensionsRetail Banking
UK financial regulators publish climate change Joint Declaration
The FCA, PRA, TPR and FRC have jointly issued a declaration reiterating their commitment to work on the enhancement of climate-related disclosures. The Joint Declaration also welcomes the UK’s Green Finance...
UK government launch Green Finance Strategy
HM Treasury and BEIS have launched a Green Finance Strategy to meet the government’s target of reducing emissions to net zero by 2050, to boost sustainable investment, and to help make the UK a ‘green...
EIOPA consults on cloud outsourcing guidelines
EIOPA is consulting on draft guidelines regarding outsourcing to cloud service providers. The areas covered by the draft guidelines include: guidance on determining whether or not cloud services should be considered to...
ESMA leaves product intervention to Member States
ESMA has decided not to renew its prohibition on marketing, distribution or sale of binary options to retail clients, and the ban expired on 1 July. Its reasoning is that most Member States now impose their own...
Financial Crime Compliance Course
We are pleased once again to host the Financial Crime Compliance Professionals course for the Compliance Register. The course takes place this year on 25 September, and we will be presenting the morning session. ...
FCA makes CFD limiting rules
FCA has confirmed the restrictions it is putting in place for firms that offer CFDs to retail customers. It is requiring all firms that offer CFDs and CFD-like options to retail consumers to: limit leverage –...
FCA launch Credit Information Market Study
The FCA has published the Terms of Reference for its credit information market study. Whilst the FCA is not formally consulting on the Terms of Reference they are welcoming any comments by the end of July. The market...
CMA Reviews Part 6 of Retail Banking Market Investigation Order 2017
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...
BIS to set up Innovation Hub
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...
FCA announces insider dealing imprisonment for former compliance officer
A former compliance officer at UBS has been sentenced to 3 years’ imprisonment for insider dealing, following a prosecution brought by FCA. Fabiana Abdel-Malik used her position to acquire confidential and...
Treasury updates on mini-bond review
Treasury has written to Nicky Morgan updating on the progress of its review into the failure of London and Capital Finance and the government and FCA review of mini-bonds. Alongside the FCA review into the...
Wolfsberg Group publishes CBDDQ materials
The Wolfsberg Group has published a set of materials that supplement its correspondent banking DDQ. The materials include a set of videos that banks can use as training materials, and a detailed review of the DDQ...
FCA summarises new rules
FCA’s latest Handbook Notice confirms the following rule changes: the changes to, mainly MIPRU, MCOB and SUP that took effect on 4 June in relation to crowdfunding platforms that offer home finance products, where...
FATF reports to G20
FATF has reported to the G20 Leaders’ Summit. The report summarises FATF’s current and ongoing workstreams, including its current focus on virtual assets, improving transparency and the availability of...
EU Council adopts crowdfunding position
The Council of the EU has adopted a position it hopes will make it easier for crowdfunding platforms to provide services across the EU, by setting minimum requirements that the platforms must meet and harmonising...
FCA finds numbers of defined benefit transfers “deeply concerning and disappointing”
The FCA is taking further action on defined benefit transfers following published data about the number of recommendations being made to pension scheme members to transfer out of their defined benefit (DB) schemes. The...
ECB will fight post-Brexit market fragmentation
Benoît Cœuré, a member of the executive board of the ECB, recently spoke about priorities and challenges facing European capital markets. He asserted that finance market fragmentation has become an increasingly...
PSR updates on access and governance
The PSR has published its fourth report on access to payment systems and governance of system operators. Key developments since the last update are: 12 new participants joining FPS, Bacs and CHAPs in 2018 (with the...
FCA launches credit information market study
FCA has announced a market study looking at how the credit information market operates and its impact on consumers, and has published terms of reference. Christopher Woolard said FCA is concerned abou the coverage and...
FCA confirms market code recognition
FCA has confirmed it is recognising the FX Global Code and the UK Money Markets Code. These are the first codes to be recognised under its new scheme. While FCA will not supervise firms or individuals directly against...
New Prospectus Regulations take effect in July
Treasury has amended the current UK rules on Prospectuses to implement the EU Prospectus Regulation which repeated the 2003 Prospectus Directive. The Regulations designate FCA as the UK Competent Authority and make...
FCA publishes general insurance Notice of Undertaking
The FCA has published a Notice of Undertaking under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 from ETA Services Ltd in relation to a Cycle Insurance Policy. The FCA was concerned that the policy in question had two terms that...
FATF plenary updates on strategy
The recent FATF plenary, under US presidency, celebrated FATF’s 30th birthday. The meeting discussed: key strategic initiatives, including how to mitigate risks from virtual asset activities, and how to assess...
Treasury promotes InsurTech for low-income renter help
Treasury and FCA organised an industry workshop aimed at helping low-income renters to get better access to contents insurance. Many contents insurance products are not suitable for the needs of these renters, so the...
BoE Governor outlines plans for a ‘new economy’
In his recent speech at Mansion House, Mr Carney addressed what he saw as an emerging ‘new economy’, that would be driven by a ‘new finance’. He outlined measures taken by the Bank of England to...
Chancellor outlines financial services plans at Mansion House speech
The Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP spoke at Mansion House on 20 June, and outlined government’s plan to safeguard and expand the financial services industry, despite the uncertainties of Brexit and its likely impact on...
Bank fined £45.5 million for failure to share suspicions of fraud with FCA
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 and thereby breaching...
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...
“Not all about Brexit” says Philip Hammond
Philip Hammond, speaking at the Mansion House dinner, highlighted the many ways in which a no-deal Brexit would be damaging for the financial services industry and the UK as a whole. He noted also the political...
Government says overseas entity registration open in 2021
In response to a question in Parliament, Lord Henley said the Government “anticipates” that the overseas entities register will be open during 2021. There was no indication of whether that would be early or...
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...
Treasury announces ‘Breathing Space’ for problem debts
HM Treasury has announced a new scheme to support those in problem debt, including those with mental health issues. The new scheme will introduce a new 60 day ‘Breathing Space period’ during which interest...
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...
FCA publishes first perimeter report
FCA has published the first of what will be an annual report on its regulatory perimeter. Among other things, the report is designed to explain what challenges the perimeter is presenting and whether there might be a...
CMA updates on loyalty penalty work
CMA has updated on its work on the loyalty penalty. It says key decisions are due shortly and that two enforcement cases are underway. It says it expects regulators to take strong action where they find problems and...
Law Commission calls for SAR guidance
The Law Commission has criticised the time that is wasted because lack of proper guidance leads to too many low quality SARs being made, which wastes both the time and money of those gathering information to report, and...
CLLS warns on MLD5 crypto plans
The City of London Law Society has published its response to Treasury’s consultation on MLD5 implementation. Its comments focused on two key areas: crypto-assets: CLLS is nervous about the suggestion that the UK...
FCA to take no further action on RBS GRG
FCA has published its final report on its investigation into the RBR GRG group’s treatment of SMEs. Its last report was nearly a year ago, and at that time FCA explained its plan to undertake a comprehensive...
FCA consults on financial resources
FCA is consulting on the approach it takes to assessing adequate financial resources – and what it means by the term. The paper has been prompted by the levels of compensation FSCS has paid out relating to firms...
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.
Pension plans have to put fiduciary management services out to tender
Pension plan trustees appointing a fiduciary manager for at least 20% of their plan assets will now need to run a competitive tender process. For our more in-depth article, click here. The Investment Consultancy and...
BVCA responds on MLD 5
BVCA has responded to Treasury’s consultation on MLD5 implementation. Its key observations are: where the underlying CDD obligation involves subjectivity or judgement, the concept of taking “reasonable...
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...
FCA announces BNPL rules
FCA has announced new rules for the Buy Now Pay Later market, taking effect later this year The rules will protect consumers by: banning firms from charging backdated interest on amounts of money that have been repaid...
Foreign Affairs Committee slams post-Brexit sanctions policy
The Foreign Affairs Committee has heavily criticised the UK’s position on post-Brexit sanctions. It says Brexit will bring about a “seismic shift” in how the government applies its sanctions policies...
Terms of Reference of the Joint Authorities Cash Strategy Group
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...
The IA comments on fund suspension
The Investment Association, commenting on suspension and illiquidity in open-ended funds, said that it is necessary sometimes to suspend funds in the best interests of their investors – be they investors who want...
FCA finds culture the main issue in capital market AML review
FCA has published its thematic review of money laundering risks in the capital markets. The review covered 19 firms representing a broad range of market segments and participants and focused on secondary markets. FCA...
Approach banks should take when exiting a customer
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...
Up next from FCA
FCA’s latest Policy Development Update heralds a few interesting papers on the near horizon, including: a consultation in June on alternatives to high cost credit; perhaps, a policy statement on general insurance...
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...
FCA consults on Gibraltar and SMCR Handbook changes
FCA’s latest quarterly consultation: proposes changes that will essentially apply the current rules for Gibraltar firms past October in the event of a hard Brexit. The status quo on rule application and fees will...
FCA publishes overdraft cost reform rules
FCA has confirmed its final reforms to fix what it describes as a “dysfunctional” overdraft market. Andrew Bailey said he expects the reforms to mean the typical cost of borrowing £100 on an unarranged...
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...
PSR Review of the Structure of LINK Interchange Fees
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...
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...
ESMA speaks on equivalence and cross-border regulation
Steven Maijoor has spoken to FESE about the challenges of cross-border regulation and supervision. He focused on market fragmentation and heralded the work of IOSCO, which will be discussed at this month’s G20...
FCA speaks on tech activism
Nick Cook, FCA’s director of innovation, has spoken on the need for regulators to keep up to speed with innovation. He spoke about: the continuing success of the FCA sandbox and the high proportion of firms that...
Baroness Manzoor takes on FOS Chair
Baroness Zahida Mansoor will become chair of FOS in August, succeeding Sir Nicholas Montagu.
FCA and PRA Joint Statement on LIBOR preparations
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...
IUA publishes cyber exclusion clauses
The International Underwriting Association (IUA) has published two new cyber exclusion clauses: Cyber Loss Absolute Exclusion Clause (IUA 09-081): provides a broad exclusion against losses arising from the use of a...
Amy Rose-McMullen
Commercial BankingConsumer FinanceFinancial Crime PreventionFintech & InnovationFundsInsuranceInvestmentsRetail Banking
FCA and Dutch Authority agree on closer partnership
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...
ESMA updates funds FAQs
ESMA has updated its FAQs on AIFMD and UCITS. The additions focus on depositaries, looking at: the distinction between depositary functions and supporting tasks that are not subject to the delegation rules in the...
FCA tells CMCs what it expects
FCA has written a Dear CEO letter to CMCs who have temporary permissions telling them how it expects them to behave then making financial promotions or acting for their customers. There has been an increase in cases...
FCA Publish Final Rules on Loan-based and Investment-based Crowdfunding Platforms
On 4th June 2019, the FCA published its feedback to CP18/20 and its final rules on loan-based and investment-based crowdfunding platforms in Policy Statement PS19/14. The changes largely match the proposals within the...
Treasury consults on funeral plan pressure sales
Treasury is consulting on how to deal with pressure sales of pre-paid funeral plans. Most of the sector is subject to voluntary regulation only through the Funeral Planning Authority. There is an increasing demand for...
FCA makes shareholder engagement and transparency rules
FCA has made new rules to improve shareholder engagement and increase transparency around stewardship. The new requirements take effect from 10 June. FCA will require: asset managers and life insurers to publish their...
FSB Report on Crypto-Asset Risks
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...