The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a letter dated 31 July, addressed to claims management companies (CMCs) involved with motor finance claims, urging them to review their financial promotions to ensure compliance with the FCA Handbook and standards set out under the Consumer Duty. The FCA has seen an increase in activity with CMC firms. From 1 January 2024 to 30 June 2025, the FCA's engagement with 14 authorised CMCs specialising in motor finance claims has resulted in 225 financial promotions being amended/withdrawn. The letter sets out the FCA's concerns regarding financial promotions across a range of media platforms, including websites, social media, banner advertisements and paid Google ads, that may breach the requirements set out in the Claims Management: Conduct of Business sourcebook (CMCOB) and the Consumer Duty.

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The European Supervisory Authorities—the European Banking Authority, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority and the European Securities and Markets Authority—have published an updated version of their consolidated Q&A document (JC 2023 18) on the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and on Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 supplementing the SFDR. The latest update includes four new Q&As addressing: (i) the definition of the term "water usage"; (ii) how to calculate useful internal floor area for owned real estate assets; (iii) best practice about disclosure of percentages for environmentally and socially sustainable investments; and (iv) whether financial products should calculate top investments or shares of investments in periodic disclosures in a specific way over the reference period.

HM Treasury (HMT) has announced an extension to the consultation deadlines set out in its policy update on applying the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) model of regulation to the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR). HMT had published a policy update inviting responses on the Overseas Recognition Regimes and Key CRR Definitions, as well as on the associated draft legislation, on 15 July. Responses were originally requested by 5 September. In response to industry feedback that additional time would be helpful for respondents, HMT has extended the deadline for responses on: (i) the Basel 3.1 transitional Statutory Instrument (The Capital Requirements Regulation (Amendment) Regulations 2025) to 12 September; and (ii) the proposed Overseas Recognition Regimes and Key UK CRR Definitions (as outlined in Chapters 3 and 4 of the policy update), together with the associated draft legislation (The Credit Institutions and Investment Firms (Miscellaneous Definitions) (Amendment) Regulations 2025) to 30 September.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published a final report containing three final draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) aimed at standardising the collection and recording of operational risk losses under the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) as amended by the CRR3. The RTS also clarify exemptions for the calculation of the annual operational risk loss and on the adjustments to loss data sets that banks must perform in case of merged or acquired entities or activities. The draft RTS were previously consulted on in June 2024.

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The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a statement alongside a press release confirming its intention to consult on a motor finance redress scheme for consumers affected by unfair commission arrangements. This follows the UK Supreme Court's ruling on 1 August. The FCA states that its aim is to create a redress scheme which is fair and easy for consumers to participate in, so there is no need to use a claims management company or law firm. In its statement, the FCA confirms that the consultation, expected in early October, will consider the following topics as set out below.

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The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that effective from 8 October, retail consumers will be permitted to access crypto exchange traded notes (cETNs), marking a significant shift from the current ban. This move is the latest step in the FCA's evolving approach to establishing a regulatory framework for crypto, in line with its crypto roadmap. To ensure investor protection, cETNs must be traded exclusively on an FCA-approved, UK-based Recognised Investment Exchange (RIE). Firms offering these products will be subject to financial promotion rules to avoid offering consumers inappropriate incentives to invest and to ensure consumers are provided with the right information. While the consumer duty will apply to firms offering these products to retail investors, the FCA clarifies that there will not be coverage from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Consumers should therefore ensure they understand the risks before deciding to invest. The existing ban on cryptoasset derivatives for retail clients remains in force.

The UK Supreme Court has handed down its judgment on the conjoined appeals involving two lenders who challenged the decision of the Court of Appeal that a car finance broker could not lawfully receive a lender's commission without first obtaining the customer's fully informed consent to the deal. In its judgment, the Supreme Court largely overturns this decision, deciding that lenders who financed the car loans were not liable to their customers for bribery for failing to obtain their informed consent to commission payments made by the lenders to the dealers arranging the finance. However, in relation to one customer liability did arise on the basis there was an unfair relationship between the customer and lender for the purposes of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. For further detail on the judgment, you may like to read our article "Commission not impossible: no bribery or breach of fiduciary duty in failure to disclose car finance commission". On the same day, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a statement in response to the Supreme Court's judgment. The FCA acknowledged the significance of the ruling and confirmed it would provide further clarity regarding a potential redress scheme, which it then published on 3 August.

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/789 supplementing the Capital Requirements Regulation (No 575/3013) (CRR) has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ). The Delegated Regulation contains regulatory technical standards (RTS) specifying the conditions and indicators that the European Banking Authority (EBA) is to use to determine whether extraordinary circumstances have occurred for the purposes of Articles 325az(5) and 325bf(6) of the CRR. Articles 325bf(6) and 325az(5) of the CRR, as amended by the CRR3 (EU) 2024/1623), enable competent authorities to permit institutions not to comply with certain requirements of the regulatory framework for the use of internal models where the EBA considers that there are extraordinary circumstances. The RTS specify that such circumstances could be recognised where a significant cross-border financial market stress has been observed, or a major regime shift has taken place, that is likely to render the outcome of the back-testing and profit and loss attribution requirements non-representative of the adequacy of the internal model for the calculation of own funds requirements. The RTS also contain a non-exhaustive list of indicators that the EBA is to use to assess whether extraordinary circumstances have occurred. The Delegated Regulation enters into force on 21 August, the twentieth day following its publication in the OJ.

The UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has announced, as part of its Regulatory Digest for July, an extension to the consultation period for CP17/25 which sets out proposed adjustments to the market risk framework under Basel 3.1. The consultation was originally published on 15 July. In response to industry feedback that respondents may benefit from extra time to develop their responses to the consultation, while considering the proposed implementation timelines for the full Basel 3.1 package, the deadline for responses has now been extended from 5 September to 12 September.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published Handbook Notice 132, outlining legislative and technical updates to the FCA Handbook made by the statutory instruments set out below.

• Non-Financial Misconduct Instrument 2025, enters into force on 1 September 2026 and amends the Code of Conduct sourcebook (COCON) and extends FCA rules on non-financial misconduct to non-banks.
• Periodic Fees (2025/2026) and Other Fees Instrument 2025, entered into force on 1 July and amends the Glossary and Fees manual (FEES) to update the regulatory fees and levies for the 2025/26 period.

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