Welcome to the November 2020 edition of our corporate crime update – our round up of developments in relation to corruption, money laundering, fraud, sanctions and related matters. Our update now covers a number of jurisdictions. Read more

In a frustrating twist to the dangerously slow-moving narrative on cross-border financial market access post- Brexit, ESMA yesterday (25 November) issued a public statement confirming the EU's hardline stance to the derivatives trading obligation (DTO) under MiFIR.  The DTO requires EU investment firms to trade certain classes of derivatives only on EU-authorised trading venues – or third country trading venues certified by the European Commission as equivalent. No such equivalence decision has been made or signalled by the EU for purposes of the DTO – and ESMA's latest statement declines to offer any forbearance or similar relief to EU firms currently using UK venues for this purpose. Read more

Regulation and supervision of outsourcing arrangements and third-party relationships entered into by financial institutions continues to be an area of great focus for regulators.  The FSB’s latest discussion paper sets out an overview of the regulatory and supervisory landscape on outsourcing and third-party risk management across a number of jurisdictions based on a survey carried out in Q1 2020.  The deadline for providing feedback is 8 January 2021. Read more

On 12 November, Sam Woods (CEO of the PRA) used his Mansion House speech to discuss the merits of introducing a new “strong and simple” regime of prudential regulation for small banks and building societies in the wake of the UK’s exit from the EU, as well as providing some general commentary on the PRA’s post-Brexit approach. Read more

On 25 October, the Bank of England’s Fintech Director, Tom Mutton, set out the Bank’s approach to fintech during the Covid crisis and beyond in a virtual speech to the 2^nd Bund Summit on digital currency, fintech and inclusive finance. 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 November 2020. Read more

HM Treasury has published a consultation launching the second phase of the Future Regulatory Framework (FRF) Review. The purpose of the Review, which began in 2019, is to explore how the UK’s regulatory framework for financial services needs to change in order to be fit for the future, particularly in light of the UK’s exit from the EU. The aim is to achieve an agile and coherent approach to financial services regulation in the UK, with appropriate democratic policy input to support “a stable, innovative and world leading FS sector”. Read more

To some of us it feels like just yesterday that the asset management industry was grappling with the legislative powers in the EU to make sense of the early drafts of the AIFMD. And yet here we are again, as the European Commission yesterday published its public consultation on the review of the AIFMD (the “Consultation”). The Consultation marks the Commission’s first deep engagement with the public on the road to what could end up being a significant reform and it brings up again some of the issues that vexed engagement during the introduction of the AIFMD. Read more