ESMA published, on 5 June 2020, new final guidelines on certain aspects of the compliance function requirements under the recast Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II)[1].
The new guidelines replace those issued in 2012, and have been updated in accordance with MiFID II requirements - specifically article 16(2) of MiFID II and article 22 of the MiFID II Delegated Regulation[2]. Read more
This post gives a high level summary of the International Organization of Securities Commissions' (IOSCO's) consultation on proposed updates to the 2005 Outsourcing Principles for Market Intermediaries and the 2009 Outsourcing Principles for Markets, and includes a link to our briefing that focuses in more detail on: the scope of application; IOSCO’s definition of outsourcing; intragroup arrangements; concentration risk; and access and audit rights. Read more
Following Covid-19, the message from the UK financial regulators regarding payments firms and payments innovation has stepped up. Recently, the Bank of England published a speech given by Christina Segal-Knowles (Executive Director, Financial Market Infrastructure Directorate) on 11 June in which she discussed the emerging themes and challenges for payments firms and payments innovation. Read more
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published a roadmap for implementation of its mandates arising from the Investment Firms Directive and Regulation (IFD/IFR). The IFD/IFR entered into force on 26 December 2019 and will apply from 26 June 2021. Read more
On 4 June 2020, Megan Butler, Executive Director of Supervision – Investment, Wholesale and Specialists at the FCA, delivered a speech on the FCA’s response to Covid-19 and expectations for 2020. Addressing a virtual audience at PIMFA’s Virtual Festival, Ms Butler explored the FCA’s priorities and longer-term expectations, in particular for the wealth management and advice industry. This briefing considers the key points from the speech. Read more
The FCA has announced that it will be surveying the financial resilience of around 13,000 firms from across 15 sectors. Between the 4 and 8 June 2020, firms will be sent a short survey by email to complete. The survey is intended to help the FCA better understand the effects that the Covid-19 pandemic is having on the finances of the firms it regulates and better guide its supervisory actions. Read more
The UK’s Tough Legacy Taskforce (Taskforce) has issued a paper on “tough legacy” issues in the transition from LIBOR. In an important intervention, it has recommended a legislative fix for all asset classes and possibly all LIBOR currencies. The scope of the recommendation from the Taskforce is wider than many will have expected, but will be broadly supported by the market. 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 June 2020. Read more
After highlighting payment services as a priority in its 2020/21 business plan and following “evidence that some firms have not implemented the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 or Payment Services Regulations 2017 as [the FCA] expects”, the FCA has published a short consultation proposing further guidance for Payment Services Providers (PSPs), including Payment Institutions (PIs) and … Read more
