The Financial Policy Committee (FPC) of the Bank of England (BoE) has published the Financial Stability in Focus report on AI in the UK financial system. The FPC considers the potential benefits of AI with its growing development, but also the macro-prudential implications on the financial system. Specifically, the report focuses on the following four areas:

• Greater use of AI in banks' and insurers' core financial decision-making. The report highlights that while there is existing regulation to manage AI related risks and the supervisory tool of the senior managers and certification regime ensures individual accountability for conduct and competence, existing legal frameworks still need to evolve (as per previous regulator publications, summarised in the FS2/23 feedback statement), and consideration should be given to potential macro-financial vulnerabilities.

Read more.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a final report on the outcome of the 2024 Common Supervisory Action (CSA) on ESG disclosures under the Benchmarks Regulation (BMR). The CSA was conducted by ESMA with national competent authorities and assessed how benchmark administrators supervised in the EU comply with the BMR's ESG disclosure requirements. The report presents the findings of the CSA, including that: (i) the lack of specific guidance on the definition and calculation of ESG factors has led to divergent and inconsistent calculation and disclosure practices across benchmarks and administrators; and (ii) there are inconsistent approaches to the underlying assumptions used by administrators for determining the factors. The CSA report recommends that the European Commission considers amendments such as rationalising ESG disclosure requirements, for which ESMA would be able to assist with technical advice. The report also provides clarifications for administrators on transparency expectations and guidance on definitions and methodology used for calculating ESG factors.

The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has published a Dear CFO letter outlining its prudential expectations regarding practices related to illiquid and structured financing portfolios. The PRA focuses on significant risk transfer (SRT) financing activities, but holds a wider expectation that firms should consider its expectations for all relevant financing portfolios. The PRA emphasises the expectation that firms analyse the characteristics of different collateral types when determining the appropriate regulatory capital treatment. The PRA is concerned that not all firms conduct sufficiently through assessments of collateral eligibility and that some firms have adopted imprudent approaches to the recognition of collateral for regulatory capital purposes, leading to an undercapitalisation of risks. The PRA highlights that its expectations align with the near-final rule changes for implementation of the Basel 3.1 Standards.

The PRA expects firms to consider the concerns identified in the letter and ensure, where needed, that policies, control frameworks and reporting are enhanced to address them. Supervisors will be requesting relevant firms to provide a response to the letter by 11 June.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a letter to the European Commission on the inconsistent regulation of trading of fractional shares across the EU. There has been an increase in the significance of fractional shares, which accounted for more than 10% of the total number of transactions reported in 2023-2024. However, shares and fractional shares are not uniformly defined under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) or the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR), resulting in regulatory inconsistencies across the EU. ESMA states that while it has already taken action through its 2023 public statement to protect retail investors, uncertainty continues. The inconsistent treatment of fractional shares has the following key effects: (i) it impacts transparency and reporting requirements, (ii) it affects compliance with the MiFID systematic internaliser and share trading obligation rules; and (iii) it impacts the calculation of thresholds for data reporting services providers derogation criteria. ESMA believes consistent classification would help create a level playing field for firms and support retail participation in this market segment. ESMA suggests it would be beneficial to clarify that fractional shares, which replicate the key characteristics and trading environment of shares, should remain subject to the MiFIR rules for shares.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a consultation paper (CP25/7) on its rates proposals for regulated fees and levies for 2025/26 and proposed amendments to the FEES manual. The annual funding requirement (AFR) required for the FCA to deliver its programme of work for the year is £783.5 million, which includes the baseline cost of ongoing regulatory activities and exceptional projects. The FCA's key proposals, among others, include adjustment to periodic fees, application fees, and levies for the Financial Ombudsman Service, Money and Pensions Service and other government departments with plans to also introduce a new fee-block (CC4) for motor finance lenders involved in discretionary commission arrangements (DCA) between 2007 and 2021 to recover costs of the FCA's review following the Court of Appeal ruling on the motor finance commission complaints. The consultation closes 13 May, with final rules expected to be published in early July.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a consultation paper setting out draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) amending the RTS on the clearing thresholds (CTs) under the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). Under the latest revisions to EMIR, known as EMIR 3, the calculation of CTs will be amended (once these RTS enter into force), shifting away from distinguishing between exchange-traded derivatives (ETD) and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives (where only OTC derivatives counted towards the threshold) to a framework based on the level of OTC-uncleared transactions. Financial counterparties (FCs) will need to calculate their uncleared positions and their aggregate OTC exposure (both cleared and uncleared) to determine if they exceed the CTs. Non-financial counterparties (NFCs) will be required to count only their uncleared positions towards the CTs.

Read more.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its work programme for 2025/26, alongside a press release summarising its approach to supporting the testing of innovative products and new firms. The work programme sets out how the FCA will deliver its four strategic priorities of being a smarter regulator, supporting growth, helping consumers navigate their financial lives and fighting financial crime, as set out in the FCA's five year strategy.

Read more.

On 8 April, the Bank of England (BoE) has published its response to the discussion paper on reviewing access to Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) accounts for settlement. In the discussion paper, initially published on 8 February 2024, the BoE requested for feedback on four priority areas to further improve access to settlement in central bank money, remove unwarranted barriers, and realise the capabilities and benefits of the renewed RTGS service. The feedback was generally supportive of the review and underpinned the importance of clear, transparent processes and criteria to facilitate access to RTGS accounts. 

Read more.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a final report setting out its technical advice to the European Commission on the amendments to the research provisions in the context of the Listing Act legislative package. The Listing Act amended the EU requirements in the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) on how payments are made for investment research, enabling joint payments for execution services and research for all issuers, irrespective of the market capitalisation of the issuers covered by the research. EU firms will be permitted to choose whether to make joint or separate payments for third-party research and execution services. This follows the UK's approach which resulted in amended rules taking effect in August 2024. We discuss UK changes in our note, "UK allows bundled payments for third-party research and trading commissions." EU member states will have until 4 June 2026 to transpose the Listing Act changes to MiFID II. ESMA's advice relates to the changes to Article 13 of Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593, known as the MiFID II Delegated Directive, which sets out the conditions that firms have to meet under the regime that required unbundled payments for research. ESMA proposes that where an investment firm chooses to use a separate research payment account, most of the existing conditions should continue to apply. Where an investment firm pays jointly for execution services and research, ESMA's advice is to require those firms to enter into an agreement on joint payments that (i) prevents the investment firm from paying substantially more for the research component than would be the case if the firm paid directly for the research; and (ii) does not impede the firm's ability to comply with the best execution requirements.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published a report on the findings of a peer review of the performance of stress tests by deposit guarantee schemes (DGS). The aim of the peer review was to assess the performance of stress tests by seven national DGS against five benchmarks stemming from the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive and the revised guidelines on stress tests of DGS. The EBA found that (i) all DGS effectively developed their stress testing programs in accordance with the methodology outlined in the guidelines, with only minor shortcomings, (ii) all DGS demonstrated effective cooperation with relevant authorities, with robust stress testing of these arrangements, (iii) five DGS could fully or largely showcase increased severity and complexity of their testing scenarios to adequately stress test their ability to intervene, with one partially demonstrating this and one, not at all, and (iv) five DGS could fully or largely showcase that they identified areas for improvement in their systems and have taken, or have planned to, take measures to address these areas, with only two partially demonstrating this. The report also details several follow-up measures for all EU DGS focusing on the prompt development of stress tests; the performance of stress tests; cooperation; severity and complexity of stress tests; and the identification of areas of improvement. The EBA will conduct a follow-up peer review of the implementation of the measures included in the report in two years.

The HM Treasury (HMT) has launched a consultation on proposals to revise the legislative regime applicable to Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs) and the depositories they use. The government intends to use the powers and framework provided for under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 to repeal the existing AIFM regulations, maintaining or replacing those with key legislative provisions and moving much of the detail to the FCA's Handbook. The FCA has also issued a call for input, together with a press release and has updated the FCA's webpage, setting out its proposed approach to regulating AIFMs within HMT's proposed framework.

Read more.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published its 2024 Reports on the annual market and credit risk benchmarking exercises. Both reports are mandated by Article 78 of the Capital Requirements Directive to assist competent authorities at monitoring the consistency of risk weighted assets (RWAs) across all EU institutions authorised to use internal approaches for the calculation of capital requirements. Regarding market risk, the report summarises the conclusions drawn from a hypothetical portfolio exercise conducted in 2023/24, performed on a sample of 43 European banks from 13 jurisdictions. The results confirm that most participating banks in the exercise have seen a relatively low dispersion in the initial market valuation, though slightly higher compared to 2023. However, there was a decrease in the dispersion of risk measures submissions compared to the previous exercise, as well as variability in general through most exercises, owing to better data submissions by participating banks because of improved instructions, knowledge of the portfolio and the resolution of issues encountered in the previous exercise. The EBA has also released, for the first time, a specific report on the fundamental review of the trading book Alternative Standardised Approach (ASA). This report expands the findings of the market risk report. In the future, benchmarking exercises will be extended to banks that apply the ASA methodology independently of the current requirement to obtain approval to adopt internal models for market risk own funds requirements. For credit risk, the results confirmed that the variability of RWAs remained stable compared to the previous year, but for some asset classes and parameters, a reduction could be observed in the longer run.

The European Parliament has voted in favour of its 'stop the clock proposal' to delay the application of new sustainability reporting and due diligence under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). The delay was proposed as part of the European Commission's (EC) "Omnibus I" simplification package, designed to address overlapping or disproportionate rules that are creating unnecessary burdens for EU businesses. The proposal postpones the application of CSRD reporting requirements for companies due to report in 2026 and 2027 (referred to as second and third wave companies), and postpones the transposition deadline and first wave application of the CSDDD by one year (to 2028). The EC had invited the co-legislators to prioritise this proposal in particular, and the Council of the EU endorsed the proposal on 26 March. The draft rules will need to be formally approved by the Council, and then can enter into force.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched its consultation in relation to derivatives transparency, package orders, and input and output data for consolidated tape providers (CTPs). This is the fourth ESMA consultation package under the EU's MiFIR review workstream, and proposes a new standalone set of regulatory technical standards (RTS) for derivative transparency ahead of a future comprehensive recast of the current RTS on non-equity transparency (RTS 2). It also includes draft amends to the respective RTS for package orders and data for CTPs. ESMA proposes a new derivatives transparency regime as per the new scope defined by MiFIR, which was amended so that the regime applies to derivatives based on certain characteristics rather than simply delineating between those traded on- and off-venue. The consultation sets out detailed calibrations as to liquidity determination (relevant for both pre-trade transparency waivers and post-trade deferrals), and the size thresholds, and duration periods to be used for the new deferral regime. The deadline for comments is 3 July. ESMA will then publish its final report, and submit the technical standards to the European Commission in Q4.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its policy statement (PS25/2) with final rules on the classes of derivatives subject to the derivatives trading obligation (DTO) and the new framework for the exemptions for post-trade risk reduction services (PTRR) in respect of the DTO, best execution and transparency. The original DTO and PTRR proposals were consulted on in July 2024, with an earlier consultation in December 2023 including proposals in relation to post-trade transparency for derivatives.

Read more.

The UK Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has published its plans and budget for 2025/2026, together with an accompanying press release. The FOS notes that there has been more uncertainty than usual over the last year, and this will continue into the next year. This is, in particular, due to the ongoing legal and regulatory developments in relation to motor finance commission complaints and the introduction of a fee for certain professional representatives, which the FOS expects will lead to a volume reduction as it will receive fewer cases without merit. In addition, the FOS expect disputed transactions cases in relation to fraud and scams to remain high, and an increase in respect of volumes of complaints in relation to authorised push payments. Despite the high level of complaints being referred, the FOS is not raising the case fees for businesses, and will be maintaining the reduced compulsory and voluntary jurisdiction levies. The FOS also confirms that it will carry out work over the course of the coming year to understand the impact of the introduction of regulatory rules in relation to deferred payment credit (previously referred to as buy now, pay later), which the FCA has said that it will consult on in the upcoming 2025/2026 period.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a consultation on proposed amendments to the Prudential Regulation Authority's (PRA) rulebook and FCA guidance on the de minimis threshold for the loan to income flow limit in mortgage lending (CP25/6). The consultation follows the UK Financial Policy Committee's recommendation in November 2024 that the threshold be raised so that the loan to income flow limit would only apply to lenders extending residential mortgages above GBP150 million (up from GBP100 million, the current threshold) per four rolling quarters. The changes proposed amend the relevant references to the GBP100m figure used in the PRA rulebook and the FCA guidance and make some other minor consequential changes. The deadline for comments is 8 May.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has updated its webpage with the official translations of the guidelines on templates to assist competent authorities in performing their supervisory duties regarding issuers' compliance under Titles III and IV of the Markets in crypto-assets Regulation, initially published on 26 March. These guidelines apply to competent authorities, issuers of asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and issuers of e-money tokens (EMTs) and specify instructions and common templates to be used by ART and EMT issuers to provide competent authorities and the EBA with the necessary information, and to collect the data they need from relevant crypto-asset service providers. The guidelines apply from 26 May. Competent authorities must notify the EBA by 26 May whether they (i) comply, (ii) do not comply, but intend to comply, or (iii) do not comply and do not intend to comply with the guidelines, with their reasons for not complying. In the absence of any notification by this deadline, competent authorities will be considered by the EBA to be non-compliant.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has confirmed its decision to review the remaining SME Banking Undertakings 2002 and has launched its consultation seeking views on whether the undertakings need to be updated. In 2002, certain banks signed up a set of legal obligations to target specific features of the SME banking markets which were barriers to competition. This included the provisions referred to as the limitation on bundling provisions, which restricted the banks from requiring an SME customer to open or maintain a business current account in order to access business loans or deposit accounts. Although most of the undertakings were released by the CMA in 2016, the limitation on bundling provisions still remains. The CMA is therefore looking for views and evidence on changes to the structure and competitiveness of SME banking markets since 2016 and whether the limitation on bundling provisions is still appropriate. The deadline for comments is 7 May. In terms of next steps, the CMA expects to consult on its provisional decision in summer, with a final decision published in autumn.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published feedback on the views it received in response to its discussion paper DP 23/1 on finance for positive sustainable change. The discussion paper included sections on a number of areas including business strategy, senior management, accountability, incentives, remuneration and training. The feedback notes that a common theme across responses was the need to wait for new regulation in this area, for example the consumer duty and sustainability disclosure requirements (SDR), to become embedded and a number of responses considered that the existing rules were sufficient. The FCA confirms that it is not currently considering introducing new rules on the discussion paper topics (although notes that since DP 23/1 was published, certain new rules have been introduced including the SDR and labelling rules, and the anti-greenwashing rule). The FCA does, however, confirm that it will continue to monitor developments and promote the themes covered by the discussion paper to help the sustainable finance market grow and promote the UK as a leading financial centre.

The Single Resolution Board (SRB) has published a press release confirming it had launched a public consultation on its expectations on valuation capabilities (dated 1 April). The consultation forms part of the Single Resolution Mechanism's Vision 2028 strategy. The expectations, which banks are expected to consider when implementing Principle 5.2 of the SRB's Expectations for Banks which requires banks to have management information systems in place for valuations. The expectations document, which is published alongside the relevant annexes, covers three key areas: (i) valuation data index, which includes an enhanced version of the SRB valuation data set and comprises information and documentation that is already available at bank level and publicly available or accessible to the SRB; (ii) data repositories for resolution, which is expected to be populated with valuation data index (see (i) above) information; and (iii) valuation playbooks. The deadline for comments is 2 July.

The UK Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has published its consultation CP25/1 on potential remedies to address findings following the PSR's final report (published on 6 March) on its review of card schemes and processing fees. The consultation seeks to address the findings of the review, namely that there were ineffective competitive restraints, fees have risen without sufficient evidence of the rationale, and there is insufficiently clear and detailed information provided in respect of costs and pricing. The proposals in the consultation paper relate to:

• Information transparency and complexity remedies – to ensure that acquirers have sufficient information to understand the fees they are charged and enable merchants to make informed decisions about fees. The PSR is also seeking input on the reduction of the volume of fees being charged, and complexity.
• Regulatory financial reporting – this would provide the PSR with more detailed and accurate information of the profits the card schemes earn from UK businesses so it can monitor their performance and assess whether any future regulatory action is needed.

Read more.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued a press release in preparation for the launch of a consolidated tape for bonds. The selection process for a provider is in motion and ESMA intends to decide on the selected applicant by early July, at which point data contributors should engage with the selected provider in relation to practical and technical matters. There will then be an expedited authorisation process for the selected provider, and when the application is complete, ESMA will determine whether authorisation is to be granted within three months. ESMA also acknowledges that it has the ability to grant a transition period if requested by the applicant, if needed. In terms of the current expected timeline, authorisation of the bond consolidated tape provider is expected in Q3/4, with the launch of the first selection for an equity consolidated tape provider in June, and the launch of the first selection for an over-the-counter derivatives consolidated tape provider in Q1 2026.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its 2024 peer review report in respect of central counterparties (CCPs), as required by Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (EMIR). The focus of the report is supervisory activities related to the EMIR requirements for outsourcing and intragroup governance arrangements. The report covered supervisory activities of all competent authorities of authorised CCPs conducted in 2022 and 2023 and found that for the most part, competent authorities managed CCP colleges compliantly. In terms of the three supervisory expectations specified in the mandate for this peer review, the report concluded the following:

• Regarding the notification process for new outsourcing arrangements, most competent authorities met (fully or largely) this expectation with the exception of three authorities which did not require CCPs to have complete written outsourcing agreements in place.
• Regarding the compliance of CCP outsourcing arrangements with EMIR requirements, all competent authorities met this expectation.
• Regarding the compliance with EMIR of CCP governance arrangements in relation to outsourcing, all competent authorities met (fully or largely) this expectation.

The report includes recommendations directed at specific competent authorities in respect of areas identified for improvement. Authorities are expected to address these recommendations within a year from the publication of the report.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has updated its webpage on cash-based money laundering and confirmed its intention to carry out a multi-firm review in this area in the financial year 2025/2026. The webpage sets out an overview of the FCA's work to reduce money laundering through cash deposit services such as those provided by the Post Office under the terms of the Banking Framework Agreement. The FCA sets out its expectations for firms who are part of the Banking Framework Agreement, including measures in relation to transaction verification and monitoring, deposit limits, suspicious activity reports, intelligence sharing and training. More broadly, the FCA expects firms to focus on communication with their customers. As mentioned above, the FCA also confirms that it is planning a multi-firm review in the financial year 2025/2026 in relation to the financial crime risks from cash-based money laundering. This review will be broader in scope than the Post Office and will consider other routes by which cash enters the financial system.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has published its opinion of 31 March on the proposal to shorten the securities settlement cycle from two business days (T+2) to one business day after trading takes place (T+1), by amending the Central Securities Depositories Regulation. The opinion was published in response to requests from the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament. The ECB confirms that it welcomes the proposed move to T+1, and notes that moving to T+1 would facilitate the objective of promoting settlement efficiency in the European Union (EU) and ensure the EU was aligned with other global jurisdictions such as the UK which have also moved, or are moving, to a shorter securities settlement cycle. The EU T+1 Industry Taskforce is currently working towards a T+1 go-live date of 11 October 2027.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published its report alongside a press release following a review into the gathering and use of children's data in financial services, particularly from services supplying them with current accounts, savings accounts, trust accounts, ISAs and prepaid cards. The report, part of the ICO's strategic ICO25 plan, highlights areas of good practice, while identifying key areas requiring improvement such as: (i) governance – while most organisations have data protection policies in place, there is limited monitoring of compliance with these policies, with only a small percentage providing specific training; (ii) transparency – many organisations lack age-appropriate privacy information and rely on parents or guardians to convey terms to children, creating a risk of children either misunderstanding or not understanding information at all; (iii) consent – some organisations are failing to review and refresh parental consent received on behalf of a child, as the child matures, making original consent likely void until it is obtained from the child; and (iv) contact including marketing – most organisations do not consider the challenges which arise in distinguishing parents and children when communications are provided, thereby increasing non-compliance risks. The ICO's findings highlight an urgent call for organisations, particularly in the financial services sector offering products for children, to align UK GDPR standards in practice, to mitigate risks and advance in compliance efforts.

Following its call for feedback on a draft report, The Platform on Sustainable Finance, an advisory body to the European Commission (EC) has published a final report on technical criterial for new activities and first review of the Climate Delegated Act. The report covers the activities and technical screening criteria to be updated or included in the EU taxonomy. The report sets out recommendations relating to: (i) the review of the criteria and analysis for the EU Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act; (ii) new activities mandated by the European Commission; (iii) new activities mandated by the European Commission but not completed; and (iv) further recommendations for climate change adaptation.

The UK Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has updated its webpage confirming that the new charging structure, which includes charges for professional representatives referring cases, now applies. The changes have been made in accordance with the two implementing instruments (FOS 2025/1 and FOS 2025/2) whose relevant provisions came into force on 1 April. The rules have been introduced to make the funding arrangements for the FOS fairer, and to encourage professional representatives – including authorised claims management companies and certain legal professionals – to give complaints more consideration before deciding to refer them to the FOS. As detailed in the policy statement published on 7 February, professional representatives can now refer up to ten cases for free each financial year. Subsequently, they will be charged £250 for each additional case but will receive £175 back in credit if the case outcome is in favour of the consumer. In terms of the charges to be paid by the firm against whom the complaint is made, if the complaint is not upheld or withdrawn, the firm's fee will be reduced to £475 instead of £650 (these figures being subject to any group charging arrangement). Individuals, families, friends, charities, and voluntary organisations who bring cases directly to the FOS will continue to be able to use their service for free.

The three-day hearing of the significant Supreme Court case involving motor finance commission complaints has begun. The case involves the conjoined appeals involving two lenders who are challenging 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 full informed consent to the deal. This has the potential to impact other sectors that use intermediaries remunerated by commission, extending its implications beyond the motor finance industry. The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has previously confirmed that if, taking into account the Supreme Court's decision, it concludes that customers have lost out from widespread failings by car finance providers, it is likely the FCA will consult on an industry-wide redress scheme. This would mean that the usual complaint process would not apply to those consumers in scope of the scheme, and the onus would be on providers to review whether or not customers had lost out and, if so, offer compensation in accordance with rules set by the FCA. The FCA has also published written submissions to the Supreme Court including a statement that the Court of Appeal went too far in effectively treating motor dealer brokers as generally owing fiduciary duties to consumers.

The UK Bank of England (BoE) has published its consultation paper CP4/25 which contains proposals for depositor protection and the new resolution tool proposed by the Bank Resolution (Recapitalisation) Bill. The consultation paper was published alongside relevant appendices and a press release.

The first part of the consultation proposes increasing the FSCS deposit protection limit from £85,000 to £110,000, and increasing the limit applicable to temporary high balance claims from GBP1 million to GBP1.4 million. The increases take into account the effect of consumer price inflation since the limit was last updated in 2017, with the UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) revising the figure to a round number for memorability, with the aim of increasing depositor awareness and confidence in the deposit protection framework. The consultation also proposes changes to the PRA's supervisory expectation, reinstating that firms should ensure their systems are able to accommodate limit changes at short notice.

Read more.

The HM Treasury (HMT) has updated its policy paper on its new approach to ensure regulators and regulations support growth. The paper was originally published on 17 March. The update includes an amendment in relation to action 2 of the paper, which seeks to reduce uncertainty across the UK regulatory system by working with regulators to achieve clarity on their roles, approach and processes. The amendment confirms that HMT will review the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority key performance indicators to ensure they are as ambitious as possible, to provide faster, more proportionate authorisations.

The European Commission (EC) has adopted a proposal to amend Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 (CRR) in relation to the stable funding factors for securities financing transactions (SFTs) and unsecured transactions with a residual maturity of less than six months. The factors are used to apply the net stable funding requirements (NSFR) under the CRR, and, by virtue of article 510(8) of CRR, were due to be increased unless otherwise specified in a legislative act adopted on the basis of an EC proposal. The original intention of article 510(8) was to increase the factors in line with the international standards agreed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, but allowing for credit institutions to adapt in time, and calibrate appropriately, for the increase, which would have occurred by 28 June. However, the current position is instead being maintained in order to ensure the ongoing efficient functioning of SFT and collateral markets, and avoid an undue increase in funding costs for credit institutions. The decision to maintain the current position also intends to bolster the EU's competitive position given the decisions made by other jurisdictions (including the UK and the U.S.) to deviate from the Basel III international standards. The EC has also published, alongside the proposal document, a staff working document providing background, and a press release giving an overview of the proposal and its context.

Six Commission Delegated Regulations supplementing Regulation 2023/114 (the EU Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation) (MiCAR) have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ), namely:

• Commission Delegated Regulation – 2025/300 supplementing MiCAR with regard to regulatory technical standards (RTS) on information to be exchanged between competent authorities.
• Commission Delegated Regulation – 2025/305 supplementing MiCAR with regard to RTS specifying information to be included in an application for authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider (CASP).
• Commission Delegated Regulation – 2025/413 supplementing MiCAR with regard to RTS specifying the detailed content of information necessary to carry out the assessment of a proposed acquisition of a qualifying holding in an issuer of an asset-referenced token.

Read more.

The Platform on Sustainable Finance, an advisory body to the European Commission (EC) has published an updated version of its handbook on Climate Transition Benchmarks and Paris-Aligned Benchmarks (version 2), and has also updated its webpage. The first version of the Handbook was published in December 2019, and was in response to frequently asked questions (FAQs) faced by the TEG benchmarks subgroup members when presenting the EU Climate Transition Benchmark (EU CTB), the EU Paris Aligned Benchmark (EU PAB) , and the benchmarks' disclosure guidance on environmental, social or governance (ESG) issues. The updated version covers clarifying (i) the 7% Reduction Trajectory, (ii) matters of terminology, explaining (iii) the anti-greenwashing measures, (iv) data sources and estimation techniques (v) related classification, and (vi) ESG disclosure matters. Each response to a FAQ in the updated version will also now indicate whether it is from 2019 or 2025, as well as referring to which publications of the TEG, may be relevant.

The UK Financial Policy Committee (FPC) has published its consultation paper on increasing the current capital buffer thresholds which apply to other systemically important institutions (O-SIIs). The thresholds are part of the FPC's framework for the systemic risk buffer, which requires systemically important banks to hold more capital to absorb stress, and increase the resilience of the UK financial system as a whole. The consultation follows the FPC's review in 2024 which noted the growth in nominal GDP between 2019 and 2023, and that current capital buffer thresholds would need to change to reflect this cumulative growth. Accordingly, the FPC is proposing to increase the current O-SII buffer thresholds by 20% (rounded to the nearest GBP5 million), based on the 20% cumulative growth in nominal GDP between 2019 and 2023. If the FPC confirms these proposals, the UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), which is responsible for issuing O-SII buffer rates, will reissue 2024 O-SII buffer rates based on firms' 2023 leverage exposure measures which will apply from 1 January 2026. The FPC also proposes to assess the thresholds as part of its regular reviews of the framework which take place at least every three years, to avoid significant one-off increases in future. Going forward, it is proposed that future indexation will be communicated through the FPC Record which will then be used by the PRA for setting the new rate. The deadline for comments is 30 May.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its Handbook Notice 128 which (among other things) confirms Handbook changes made by the Digital Securities Depositories Instrument 2025 (FCA 2025/14). The instrument makes changes to the glossary and market conduct sourcebook sections of the FCA handbook confirming how the FCA Handbook applies to authorised persons carrying out digital securities depository and ancillary activities in the FCA's digital securities sandbox. In summary, the core functions of a digital securities depository and category 1 ancillary activities (being activities which are carried on for the purpose of enabling those core functions) will be treated as unregulated activities, while category 2 ancillary activities (being other ancillary activities not classed as category 1) will continue to be subject to relevant parts of the FCA Handbook, as applicable.

This change was made in conjunction with updates to the UK Bank of England and FCA guidance on the operation of the digital securities sandbox (on 27 March) confirming how ancillary services would be included in a participant firm's sandbox approval notice. The updates also clarify that banking-type ancillary service providers would need to hold Part 4A permission to accept deposits, and other relevant permissions, to carry on any other regulated activity for both core cash settlement and other ancillary banking services.

The UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) has published its annual report on suspicious activity reports (SARs) for the period between April 2023 and March 2024. The annual report structure has been updated due to a number of key changes, including the new reporting portal which was introduced in September 2023, and changes to the UK anti-money laundering regulatory framework. Key points noted in the report were the uptick in the number of defence against money laundering (DAML) requests refused, indicating better quality DAML SARs were being submitted, and wider use of account freezing orders by law enforcement. In terms of the sector breakdown, banking and financial services firms (including e-money, payments and crypto) continue to comprise the majority of SAR reporters, being responsible for over 95% of SAR reports. The report also confirms that the UKFIU will continue to work towards delivery of the new SARs Digital Service, which will provide greater analytical capabilities.

The UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has published a policy statement providing feedback to its consultation paper CP1/25 on the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) Management Expenses Levy Limit for the year 2025/2026. The policy statement was published alongside the PRA Rulebook Instrument making the necessary changes to the PRA Rulebook, setting the amount which the FSCS may recover from the sums levied as management expenses for the 2025/2026 period. The policy statement confirms that since the publication of the consultation paper, the FSCS has confirmed that the projected underspend (which was approximately GBP1.7 million for 2024/25) is now GBP2.8 million, which, if it materialises, will be used to offset the levy for relevant classes in 2025/26. The instrument came into force on 1 April.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its peer review report on national competent authorities' (NCAs) supervision of simple, transparent and standardised (STS) securitisations. The report looks into and provides recommendations on the supervisory approaches adopted by selected NCAs when supervising STS securitisation transactions and the activities of their originators, sponsors and securitisation special purpose entities. The Peer Review Committee recommends relevant NCAs scale up their approach to STS supervision, so that risks arising from these transactions are adequately identified, assessed and addressed. NCAs are encouraged to continue monitoring the evolution of their STS markets and to adapt their supervisory approach and resource allocation as needed. This is said to be particularly relevant in light of the ongoing fundamental review of the securitisation regulatory framework, with the aim to revive the securitisation market in the EU. ESMA expects to carry out a follow-up assessment in the future to evaluate progress made against the recommendations and track developments in STS supervision across jurisdictions.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has announced the establishment of a forum on cross-border payments data, a key outcome from the FSB's recommendations for data frameworks related to cross-border payments published in December 2024. The forum seeks to bring together experts in payments, anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing, sanctions and data privacy and protection, to strengthen cooperation on data-related issues in cross-border payments. Working with international organisations, including with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the forum will serve as a platform for dialogue, information exchange and research, helping to identify and address inconsistencies in global data frameworks. An advisory body comprised of private sector representatives will also be created to provide industry perspectives and expertise to the forum. Its first meeting will be held in May.

The European Commission (EC) has announced that it has opened infringement procedures by sending a letter of formal notice to 13 Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece, Spain, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia) for failing to fully transpose the Digital Operational Resilience Act Directive (Directive 2022/2556) (DORA Directive). Member States had to transpose the DORA Directive into national law by 17 January. The Member States concerned now have two months to respond and to complete their transposition and notify their measures to the EC. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the EC may decide to issue a reasoned opinion, the second stage of the formal infringement procedure.

The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have opened a consultation on margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives. The proposals are to:

• Make permanent the current temporary exemption, which is due to expire 4 January 2026, for single-stock equity options and index options from the UK bilateral margining requirements. The EU had the same temporary exemption until 24 December 2024 when the latest revisions to the European Market Infrastructure Regulation, known as EMIR 3, made the exemption permanent. We discuss this change and others in our client bulletin, "EMIR 3 - Impact on uncleared OTC derivatives markets". Both the UK and EU allow provision for the exemptions to change, if in future other jurisdictions implement margin requirements for these derivatives.

Read more.

The Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), author of the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (the BCAP Code), has announced that following a consultation, it was introducing changes to Section 14 of the BCAP Code (Financial products, services and investments) to clarify the scope of its restriction of advertisements (ads) for unregulated investments to specialised financial channels and programming. The BCAP Code includes a rule that restricts ads for certain types of complex financial products to specialised financial channels, stations and programming, meaning that such ads cannot be broadcast on mainstream TV or radio to a general audience. The amendment is intended to clarify the scope of the existing restriction on ads for investments unregulated by the FCA, to ensure that it applies in practice to unregulated "investments" that meet the likely consumer understanding of that term. It will remove the risk of what is seen as an inadvertent application of the restriction to unregulated products that technically fall within the definition of investment activity set out within the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as reflected in the Code section), but that are not in line with a layperson's understanding of an investment, and that are not compatible with the type of risky financial products from which restrictions were intended to protect general broadcast audiences. The changes take effect immediately, but BCAP are mindful of the need to avoid unintended consequences of amending the wording of rules and to ensure that changes are effective. As such, the amended rules will be subject to review after 12 months.

The Platform on Sustainable Finance, an advisory body to the European Commission (EC) established under Article 20 of the Taxonomy Regulation, has published its response to the EC's Taxonomy Delegated Act consultation.

The Platform is broadly supportive of the simplification proposal but makes a number of recommendations, including: (i) introducing a mechanism for all companies to report partial alignment; (ii) clarifying the materiality threshold; (iii) gradually integrating exposures into the Green Asset Ratio; (iv) postponement of KPIs for Banks; and (v) pausing, rather than excluding, reasonable assurance for Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) reporting, including the EU Taxonomy entity-level reporting. The Platform raises concerns regarding the reduction of the Taxonomy's scope suggested in the Omnibus proposals, as regards certain corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements. The Platform recommends aligning the scope of Taxonomy reporting with the scope of the CSRD, while preserving the CSRD's original scope. For non-SME companies below the 1,000-employee threshold, the Platform suggests that reporting should be focused on the most essential standards, including Taxonomy alignment.

Official translations of the guidelines on certain aspects of the suitability requirements and format of the periodic statement for portfolio management activities under the EU Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCAR) have been published on the European Securities and Market Authority's (ESMA's) website. These guidelines apply to competent authorities and cryptoasset service providers (CASPs) where they provide advice on cryptoassets or portfolio management of cryptoassets. They specify the suitability requirements under Article 81(1), (7), (8), (10), (11) and (12) of MiCAR and the requirements applicable to the format of the periodic statement to be provided by CASPs in accordance with Article 81(14) of MiCAR. The guidelines apply from 25 May. Competent authorities must notify ESMA by 25 May whether they (i) comply, (ii) do not comply, but intend to comply, or (iii) do not comply and do not intend to comply with the guidelines, with their reasons for not complying. Financial market participants are not required to report whether they comply with these guidelines.

The Council of the EU has announced that it has agreed its position on the "stop-the-clock" mechanism to postpone the dates of application of certain corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements, as well as the transposition deadline of the due diligence provisions. In particular, to postpone:

• by two years the entry into application of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requirements for large companies that have not yet started reporting, as well as listed SMEs; and
• by one year the transposition deadline and the first phase of the application (covering the largest companies) of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).

This mechanism is intended to grant the co-legislators time to agree on substantive changes to the CSRD and CSDDD, also proposed by the Commission as part of the "Omnibus I" package on sustainability. The European Parliament has scheduled 1 April for a vote on this fast-tracked proposal.

Victoria Cleland, Executive Director of Payments, Bank of England (BoE) has given a speech on innovating wholesale payments: building a resilient and innovative future. In the speech, Ms Cleland discusses the BoE's innovation work, including on tokenisation, synchronisation of foreign exchange between sterling and euro and developing a wholesale central bank digital currency. Ms Cleland highlights the BoE's work on enhancing access to the RTGS service. Before Easter, the FCA will publish a summary of the key feedback received on its February 2024 discussion paper, an update on work so far and its forward-looking policy work in this area. Market participants can expect in April the publication of an updated guide for non-bank payment service provider (NBPSP) access to UK payment systems. The Bank will also be considering offering safeguarding facilities directly to NBPSPs, so that NBPSPs could securely hold funds overnight and manage their liquidity and payment obligations. It is also working with HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority on reforming the regulatory regime for NBPSPs to support their RTGS access. The BoE will also soon be publishing updated information on access to RTGS to give more details on benefits, costs and processes, including for foreign banks. The Bank intends to continue engaging with industry on assessing the appropriateness of the CHAPS direct participation threshold. Additionally, given the value of a consistent adoption of the ISO 20022 global messaging standard, the BoE will mandate the use of ISO 20022 enhanced data for certain CHAPS payments from 1 May, including the use of Legal Entity Identifiers for payments between financial institutions.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a feedback statement on immediate areas for action and further plans for reviewing FCA requirements following introduction of the Consumer Duty. It follows the FCA's call for input to which it received 172 responses. Most respondents supported simplification of requirements in principle, but opinions varied on the approach and timeline.

Read more.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its new five-year strategy, focusing on the following key priorities with the stated objectives of deepening trust and rebalancing risk, to support growth and improve lives:

• to be a smarter regulator; predictable, purposeful and proportionate. The FCA will improve its processes and embrace technology to become more efficient and effective.
• to support sustained economic growth, by enabling investment, innovation and ensuring the continued competitiveness of the UK's world-leading financial services.
• to help consumers navigate their financial lives by working with industry to boost trust, product innovation and ensuring the right information and support is available for people to take financial decisions.
• to fight financial crime, focusing on those who seek to use the fact they are regulated to do harm. It will go further to disrupt criminals and support firms to be an effective line of defence.

Each priority is accompanied by intended markers of success by 2030.