The FCA has published its long-awaited consultation on 'duty of care' which has morphed into a proposed package of measures intended to deliver better outcomes for consumers – together a new 'Consumer Duty'. The consultation, which is open until 31 July 2021, proposes: a new Consumer Principle that provides an overarching standard of conduct; and a set of Cross‑cutting Rules and four Outcomes that support the Consumer Principle. The proposals apply to regulated products and services sold to 'retail clients' which would include SMEs. Read more

Way back in 2019, the FCA published a Feedback Statement, summarising responses to its July 2018 Discussion Paper on the proposed introduction of a 'duty of care' and setting out its next steps.  In that Feedback Statement, the FCA said it would publish a further paper seeking detailed views on specific options for change. We are now expecting the much anticipated consultation this month. Read more

In this blog post, we round-up forthcoming developments in the UK and at EU and International levels in financial services regulation which are expected for May 2021. Read more

Yesterday the Bank of England (BoE) and HM Treasury (HMT) released a statement announcing the joint creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Taskforce. The Chancellor has also announced ambitious and complementary plans to encourage growth of UK fintechs and “cement the UK’s position as the world’s pre-eminent financial centre.” Read more

In this blog post, we round-up forthcoming developments in the UK and at EU and International levels in financial services regulation which are expected for April 2021. Read more

In this blog post, we round-up forthcoming developments in the UK and at EU and International levels in financial services regulation which are expected for March 2021. Read more

In this blog post, we round-up forthcoming developments in the UK and at EU and International levels in financial services regulation which are expected for February 2021. Read more

On 7 January 2021, HM Treasury  published a consultation and call for evidence on the UK’s regulatory approach to cryptoassets and stablecoins, which sets out HMT’s proposals for a new regulatory regime covering stablecoins and its approach to regulating cryptoassets more generally. The proposals follow HMT’s July 2020 consultation on bringing certain cryptoassets within the scope of the financial promotions regime (see our blog post here). Read more