On 26 November 2019, the FCA announced that it would use its temporary intervention powers to restrict the mass marketing of speculative mini-bonds to retail customers. Although the intervention will allow the promotion of unlisted speculative mini-bonds to sophisticated and/or high net worth individuals, marketing materials which are produced by or approved by an authorised firm will also have to include a specific risk warning and disclose costs or payments made to third parties that are deducted from investors' money. Read more

On 21 November 2019, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published a circular to licensed corporations regarding dubious private fund and discretionary account arrangements and transactions. This is part of the SFC’s ongoing efforts to tackle market and corporate misconduct. Read more

European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis announced in a speech at the Guildhall in London last week that, 'as the risk to financial stability has not yet been fully removed, because industry has not so far fully prepared', he intends to renew the temporary equivalence decision for UK central counterparties (CCPs) beyond the current expiry date of 30 March 2020. Read more

On 6 November 2019, Hong Kong's Security and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a position paper setting out a new regulatory framework for the licensing of centralised virtual asset trading platforms, following the SFC’s conceptual framework issued last year. Read more

This fourth article of a series on crypto assets considers which crypto assets are subject to the market abuse regulation (MAR), and the particular challenges that may present. Read more

On 29 October Lord Sharkey introduced a Private Members' Bill into the House of Lords, which proposed amending the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ("FSMA") to empower the FCA to introduce a duty of care owed by authorised persons to consumers in carrying out regulated activities under FSMA (the "Bill"). The Bill proposed that a duty of care be defined as an obligation to exercise reasonable care and skill when providing a product or a service. Read more

On 31 October 2019, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published a circular (Circular) on the use of electronic data storage providers (EDSPs) by licensed corporations (LCs). In the Circular, the SFC has reminded LCs of their obligation to ensure the preservation and integrity of those records or documents they are required to keep under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (collectively, Regulatory Records) – and stressed that this obligation continues to apply even where LCs rely on EDSPs either exclusively or in conjunction with on-site data hosting. Read more