The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a reminder for derivative market participants to update their outstanding derivative reports to comply with the amended reporting requirements introduced in February 2023. The UK amended its reporting requirements under the UK European Market Infrastructure Regulation. The changes took effect on 30 September 2024, subject to a transitional period which ends on 31 March. The FCA states that firms should review their reporting arrangements to ensure that they have taken the required steps to amend their outstanding derivative reports ahead of 31 March. The FCA encourages firms that do not believe that they will be able to comply to proactively engage with the regulator regarding their circumstances.

The Register of Overseas Entities (Protection and Trusts) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 were published, alongside an explanatory memorandum. The Regulations amend the Register of Overseas Entities (Delivery, Protection and Trust Services) Regulations 2022 to allow anyone whose information could be published or disclosed by the registrar under Register of Overseas Entities (ROE) to apply to Companies House to have their information protected. The ROE was established in 2022 mainly to improve transparency regarding the beneficial ownership of overseas entities holding land in the UK. Overseas entities owning or buying property in the UK must provide information to the Registrar of companies and most of that information is publicly available. There is protection of information of those at serious risk of violence or intimidation. Prior to this amendment, only a registrable beneficial owner or managing officer could apply for protection if they, or anyone they live with, would be at serious risk of intimidation or violence if the information about them is published.

The Regulations also allow trust information that is currently not publicly available to be accessed by application if certain requirements are met. The Regulations enter into force from 28 February, except for the provisions relating to trusts which will enter into force on 31 August. Companies House has published guidance on how to apply to protect details on the ROE.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has published a report on card schemes and processors. The report provides an updated analysis of the development of card schemes and processing entities in EU member states. In the report, the ECB considers whether changing market conditions allow national card schemes to remain sustainable and considers the distribution of processors across EU countries, including the extent to which non-EU ownership may lead to EU dependence. The ECB concludes that the EU is highly reliant on non-EU solutions to operate card payments. This includes both card schemes and processors. According to the ECB, it is important for an EU solution to be developed at the point of interaction to secure operational resilience and autonomy of EU payment systems.

The European Commission has adopted a number of Commission Delegated Regulations supplementing the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR):

• Commission Delegated Regulation (C(2025)1206) adopted in accordance with Article 68(10) of MiCAR prescribes the regulatory technical standards (RTS) specifying records to be kept of all cryptoasset services, activities, orders and transactions undertaken.
• Commission Delegated Regulation (C(2025)1216) adopted in accordance with Article 72(5) of MiCAR sets out RTS specifying the requirements for policies and procedures on conflicts of interest for cryptoasset service providers and the details and methodology for the content of disclosures on conflicts of interest.
• Commission Delegated Regulation (C(2025)1220) adopted in accordance with Article 32(5) of MiCAR contains RTS specifying the requirements for policies and procedures on conflicts of interest for issuers of asset-referenced tokens.

The Council of the EU and the European Parliament will now scrutinise the Delegated Regulations. If neither objects, they will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and enter into force 20 days after publication.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published an opinion (dated 25 February) on the European Commission's (EC's) amendments relating to the final draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) on the information to be included in the application for authorisation to offer the public and to seek admission to trading of asset-reference tokens (ARTs) under Article 18(6) of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR). The EBA has endorsed the substantive amendments to the draft RTS submitted by the EC and has accepted the remaining changes on other parts that are not considered substantive.

The EBA also published a letter to the EC setting out its intention to accept the changes but inviting the EC to consider amending the Level 1 text at the next available opportunity, to include certain elements that were set out in the draft RTS, given their importance from a supervisory perspective. In particular, the EBA suggest that the EC amend MiCAR to address the requirements of (i) a market abuse policy; (ii) an independent third-party audit about the issuer's proprietary DLT that is operated by the issuer or by a third-party operator; and (iii) a notion of good repute aligned with the rest of the financial sector.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a speech by Nikhil Rathi, chief executive, on supporting economic growth. Mr Rathi notes that from 27 February, the FCA no longer expects firms to have a consumer duty board champion, meaning boards can decide for themselves whether or not to have one. To reflect the same, the FCA has also updated its webpage on consumer duty information for firms. Separately, the FCA will move efficiently on the 50 or so growth proposals it made to the Prime Minister its response to the call to support growth. The FCA will also focus on their joint Call for Input with the Financial Ombudsman Service published in November 2024 on how complaints and redress mechanisms work, by reviewing the framework to ensure even tighter alignment, and clearer early warnings when significant issues are emerging.

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The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published official translations of the guidelines on the maintenance of systems and security access protocols for offerors and persons seeking admission to trading of cryptoassets other than asset referenced tokens (ARTs) and e-money tokens (EMTs). The guidelines apply to competent authorities and to 'offerors' as defined in Article 3(1)(13) of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) and persons seeking admission to trading of cryptoassets other than ARTs or EMTs in relation to Article 14(1), point (d), of MiCAR.

The purpose of these guidelines is to specify the appropriate standards for offerors and persons seeking admission to trading who are not subject to the same operational resilience under MiCAR and the Digital Operational Resilience Regulation as their cryptoasset service provider and issuer counterparts. The guidelines include discussion of: (i) the general principle on proportionality; (ii) administrative arrangements and roles and responsibilities concerning systems and security access protocols; (iii) physical security access protocols; (iv) security access protocols for network and information systems; and (v) cryptographic key management.

The guidelines will apply from 27 April. National competent authorities must notify ESMA by 26 April whether they comply, do not comply but intend to comply or do not intend to comply with the guidelines. Offerors and persons seeking admission to trading are not required to report whether they comply with the guidelines.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has published a consultation aimed at improving country and private sector understanding of current proliferation financing (PF) risks. This study will detail the evasion techniques used by those evading the targeted financial sanctions detailed in Recommendation 7 of the FATF Standards, as well as other national and supranational sanctions that are not covered by the FATF Standards. The resulting report will focus on providing a comprehensive up-to-date understanding of typologies in complex sanctions evasion schemes relevant to PF and identifying enforcement challenges and best practices, which helps to inform countries' PF risk assessment and risk mitigation.

The questions posed by the FATF include: (i) which unique products or services are most vulnerable to exploitation by sanctions evaders and PF actors; (ii) how risks related to vulnerable products or services and/or high-risk countries for sanctions evasion and/or PF activity are managed; (iii) measures (such as setting suspicious transaction report rules) that effectively detect potential sanctions evasion activity; (iv) best practices for information sharing with the public and/or private sectors; and (v) what public information the FATF can provide to assist the private sector and others in mitigating PF risk.

The deadline for responses is 21 March.

The European Commission (EC) has published two omnibus proposals on sustainability and EU investments, designed to address overlapping, unnecessary or disproportionate rules that are creating unnecessary burdens for EU businesses. The package includes amendments to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and the Carbon Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). In particular, the proposals seek to make sustainability reporting more accessible and efficient, simplify due diligence to support responsible business practices, strengthen the carbon border adjustment mechanism for a fairer trade and unlock opportunities in European investment programmes.

The package is also accompanied by a draft Taxonomy Delegated Act for public consultation. The EC published a Q&A and press release explaining in further detail the purpose of the omnibus legislation and the changes that are proposed.

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The European Commission (EC) has published a call for evidence on a draft Commission Delegated Regulation amending Commission Delegated Regulation 2021/2178 in relation to the simplification of the content and presentation of information to be disclosed concerning environmentally sustainable activities. The draft also proposes amendments to Commission Delegated Regulations 2021/2139 and 2023/2486 as regards simplification of certain technical screening criteria for determining whether economic activities cause no significant harm to environmental objectives. The proposals in the Draft Regulation include a 10% de minimis threshold and excluding from the denominator of the key performance indicators (KPIs) exposures of financial institutions to undertakings with an average number of over 1000 employees until the Commission's review of Delegated Regulation 2021/2178 is finalised. The application of the trading book and the fees and commission KPIs is also postponed until 2027. The EC also proposes to simplify templates such as summary KPIs and 'per activity' information to no longer duplicate elements that are covered by general reporting templates. The call for evidence closes on 26 March.

The EC has also published two omnibus proposals on sustainability and EU investments.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a speech by Sarah Pritchard, executive director of consumers, competition and international, on the FCA's approach to non-bank financial intermediation (NBFI) leverage. The FCA believes that the first line of defence against the build-up of systemic risk related to leverage use is NBFIs themselves appropriately managing their own investment risk. However, for NBFIs to effectively manage their risks related to leverage use, they need to have access to adequate data and information about the markets in which they operate and the risks to which they're exposed. The second line of defence is counterparty credit risk management. However, in recent stress episodes, counterparty credit risk management has often failed to prevent systemic risks from crystallising. Enhancing private disclosure between counterparties would give leverage providers more information about the overall risk exposures of their NBFI clients, allowing them to manage their counterparty risk more effectively. That said, if NBFIs are required to disclose too much information, this could reveal proprietary information about their investment strategies. The FCA consider that industry has an important role to play in establishing best practice and in developing solutions that can balance the interests of leverage users and providers to improve data availability, so that NBFIs and counterparty credit providers can continue to operate as the first and second lines of defence.

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The European Commission has published a targeted consultation document on a review of the functioning of commodity derivatives markets (including for these purposes emissions allowances) and certain aspects relating to spot energy markets. The outcome of this consultation will feed into the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive report with a view to making the EU commodity derivatives markets more efficient and resilient.

The consultation seeks stakeholders' feedback on a broad range of issues, including: (i) data aspects relating to commodity derivatives; (ii) the ancillary activity exemption; (iii) position management and position reporting; (iv) position limits; (v) circuit breakers; and (vi) other elements stemming from the Draghi report on EU competitiveness. Responses must be submitted by 9 April.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a portfolio letter explaining its current supervision priorities for asset management and alternatives. Firms must discuss this letter with their Board, Executive Committee and accountable Senior Managers to consider whether the risks of harm discussed exist in their firm and implement strategies for managing them.

The FCA's supervisory priorities include:

• Supporting confident investing in private assets. The FCA will shortly be releasing its multi-firm review on private market valuation practices. The FCA will also start a multi-firm review on conflicts of interest at firms managing private assets.
• Market integrity and avoiding disruption. Informed by the vulnerabilities identified in the System Wide Explanatory Scenario, the FCA will focus surveillance on prudent risk management, liquidity management and operational resilience.
• Consumer outcomes. The FCA will publish its findings from the ongoing multi-firm review of unit linked funds later this year and will also start a multi-firm review of model portfolio services (MPS). This review of MPS will look at how firms are applying the Consumer Duty, to provide confidence that investors are receiving good outcomes from MPS.

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The Unauthorised Co-ownership Alternative Investment Funds (Reserved Investor Fund) Regulations 2025 have been published, along with an explanatory memorandum. The regulations support the Government's introduction of the reserved investor fund (RIF) which will be a new type of UK-based investment fund vehicle legally structured as an unauthorised co-ownership alternative investment fund. The regulations will apply, with modifications, sections 261M to 261O and 261P(1) and (2) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, which currently apply to investors in investment funds that are authorised contractual schemes, to investors in UK-based RIFs (or funds that were RIFs). The Regulations were made on 25 February and come into force when the Co-ownership Contractual Schemes (Tax) Regulations 2025 which establish RIFs come into force, that is 19 March.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published official translations of its guidelines on the procedures and policies, including the rights of clients, in the context of transfer services for cryptoassets under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) on investor protection. The guidelines apply to competent authorities and cryptoasset service providers (CASPs) that act as providers of transfer services for cryptoassets on behalf of clients within the meaning of Article 3(1)(26) of MiCAR. These guidelines aim to ensure the common, uniform and consistent application of the provisions in Article 82 of MiCAR. They include guidelines on: (i) the policies and procedures in the context of transfer services for cryptoassets; (ii) information requirements on individual transfers for cryptoassets; (iii) execution times and cut-off times; (iv) rejection or suspension of an instruction to transfer cryptoassets or return of cryptoassets transferred; and (v) the liability of the CASP.

The guidelines will apply from 27 April. National competent authorities must notify ESMA by 26 April whether they comply, do not comply but intend to comply or do not intend to comply with the guidelines. Cryptoasset service providers are not required to report whether they comply with the guidelines.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published official translations of its guidelines on situations in which a third-country firm is deemed to solicit clients established or situated in the EU and supervision practices to detect and prevent circumvention of the reverse solicitation exemption under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR). The guidelines apply to competent authorities in relation to Article 61(3) of MiCAR. The guidelines include discussion of: (i) the means of solicitation; (ii) the fact that the solicitation may be carried out by the third-country firm itself or any person acting on its behalf or having close links with the third-country firm; and (iii) the construction of the concept of 'exclusive initiative of the client'. The Annex to the guidelines contains a non-exhaustive list of examples of circumstances where a third-country firm is likely to be regarded as soliciting clients in the EU.

The guidelines will apply from 27 April. National competent authorities must notify ESMA by 26 April whether they comply, do not comply but intend to comply or do not intend to comply with the guidelines.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has published an updated version of its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) standards after the February FATF Plenary approved changes to Recommendation 1 and its Interpretive Note, with corresponding amendments to Interpretive Notes to Recommendations 10 and 15, as well as related Glossary definitions to better support financial inclusion. The amendments aim to better promote financial inclusion through increased focus on proportionality and simplified measures under the risk-based approach. Alongside this, the FATF also published a consultation document on updating its Guidance on AML/CFT measures and financial inclusion, to equip policy makers and regulators with practical examples. Responses must be submitted by 4 April.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published a consultation paper containing draft implementing technical standards (ITS) on amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/2070 with regard to the benchmarking of internal models in advance of the 2026 benchmarking exercise. Article 78 of Directive 2013/36 (CRD VI) requires competent authorities to conduct an annual assessment of the quality of approaches used for the calculation of own funds requirements. To assist competent authorities in this assessment, the EBA calculates and distributes benchmark values to competent authorities that allows a comparison of individual institutions' risk parameters. These benchmark values are based on data submitted by institutions as laid out in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/2070 which specifies the benchmarking portfolios, templates and definitions to be used as part of the annual benchmarking exercises.

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The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has published a second consultation on payment transparency, and in particular proposed revisions to recommendation 16 (R.16). The revisions adapt the FATF Standards to the changes in payment business models and messaging standards, as well as to the evolving risks and vulnerabilities. This consultation picks up the main issues raised in the first consultation during February to May 2024, and how these have now been addressed. It also provides more information on the questions of policy intent and proportionality which were raised as overarching issues during that consultation. The revised proposal is attached as an annex to the consultation.

The deadline for responses is 18 April. The FATF will finalise the revisions in June, following which it will develop a guidance paper on payment transparency to facilitate consistent implementation of the updated standards.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a new webpage setting out their findings of whether financial advisers are delivering the ongoing advice services that consumers have paid for. The review focused on delivery of suitability reviews as firms generally included these as part of their ongoing advice service. The FCA found that in 83% of the cases where suitability reviews were promised, they were delivered. Firms reported that in a further 15% of cases, clients had either declined the review or not engaged with the firm's request for the information needed to conduct a review. There were fewer than 2% of cases where firms reported they had made no effort to deliver the suitability review to clients. However, the FCA notes that there were differences in the results across the firms surveyed and the population surveyed was not a representative sample. Additionally, a small subset of firms was not readily able to provide data for all of the years the FCA requested.

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The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has published a letter (dated 21 February) to the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors ahead of their meeting on 26 and 27 February. The letter addresses areas of focus for the FSB, including:

• Implementation monitoring, providing a strategic review of the FSB's monitoring of 15 years of implementation of reforms. The review is intended to provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of the monitoring of post-global financial crisis regulatory reforms and identify areas where improvements can be made in the tools used to ensure consistent, global implementation of agreed reforms. The FSB will publish a progress report in October.
• Completing the G20 roadmap to enhance cross-border payments. The FSB note that as the work has advanced, many structural issues have become apparent that require concerted efforts to resolve. Addressing these issues calls for significant additional work up to and beyond 2027. The FSB will report in October on progress towards the G20's goal of making cross-border payments faster, cheaper, more transparent, and accessible. The FSB's focus this year is on improving the end-user experience, coordinating closely the work of the Bank for International Settlements Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures and other partner organisations.

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The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published a report on the data availability and feasibility of a common methodology for ESG exposures. In accordance with the mandate under Article 501c(1) of Regulation 575/2013 (CRR), this report aims to assess the availability and accessibility of data related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, as well as the feasibility of introducing a standardised methodology for identifying and qualifying banking book credit exposures to ESG risks.

The EBA explores institutions' existing practices and identifies the current challenges in standardising the identification and classification of exposures to ESG risks, building on observations related to data quality and collection, assessment methodologies and available regulatory guidance. The overview of current practices is complemented by an analysis of specific elements covered by the mandate, including sustainability disclosure reporting frameworks, supervisory stress testing and ESG scores in the credit risk ratings of external credit assessment institutions.

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The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published official translations of its guidelines on stress test scenarios under the Money Market Funds Regulation (MMF Regulation). These guidelines apply to competent authorities, MMFs and managers of MMFs in relation to Article 28 of the MMF Regulation. In particular, and as specified in Article 28(7) of the MMF Regulation, they establish common reference parameters of the stress test scenarios to be included in the stress tests. The parts of the guidelines shown in red text will apply from 24 April. The other parts of the guidelines already apply from the dates specified in Articles 44 and 47 of the MMF Regulation.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a research note on AI's role in credit decisions, exploring the issue of AI explainability in the context of algorithm-assisted decision-making, using consumer credit decisions as a case study to test out different approaches. The researchers used an online experiment to study whether different kinds, or 'genres', of explanation lead to better consumer outcomes such as consumers' ability to judge whether algorithm-assisted decisions are erroneous. Specifically, the researchers tested whether participants were able to identify errors caused either by incorrect data used by the algorithm or by flaws in the algorithm's decision logic itself.

The experiment found that additional information may make it more difficult to spot errors because there is simply more information to review, encouraging participants to focus on whether this decision logic was followed rather than if the decision logic was sound. However, participants who were given more information about the inner workings of the algorithm's decision-making reported feeling more confident in their ability to judge the algorithm's decisions—but their actual judgement was worse on average. The findings reiterate the value of testing accompanying materials that may be provided to consumers when explaining AI, machine learning and/or algorithmic decision-making to understand how effective they are.

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The Wolfsberg Group has published FAQs on defining digital assets. The FAQs propose definitions to be used by financial institutions, policymakers, supervisors and regulators to understand the characteristics of digital assets, money laundering, terrorist financing and operational risks they generate, as well as serve as an input to financial institutions developing policies and appropriate controls. The Wolfsberg Group intends to supplement these FAQs in future with guidance on the risks and associated controls for digital assets in line with the concepts developed in the FAQs.

The Wolfsberg Group has also published guidance on payment transparency roles and responsibilities to supplement the Wolfsberg Group Payment Transparency Standards.

The Wolfsberg Group has published guidance on payment transparency roles and responsibilities to supplement the Wolfsberg Group Payment Transparency Standards. The guidance discusses roles played by key actors in a payment chain and their respective responsibilities to adhere to payment transparency standards across a sample of commonly observed payment flows. It includes an example of cross-border payment between two countries, two parties and with no intermediaries, as well as an example of three different ways in which an intermediary agent payment service provider (PSP) can be involved in a payment to draw attention to what information is available to each actor from the payment message and what responsibilities they have in relation to payment transparency requirements. The guidance serves as a reference guide that can be used by all PSPs, regulators and standard setters.

The Wolfsberg Group has also published FAQs on defining digital assets.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has published summary terms of reference for its thematic peer review on the FSB global regulatory framework for cryptoasset activities. The objective of this peer review is to examine members' progress, experience and lessons learned in implementing the FSB global regulatory framework for cryptoasset activities. This includes the high-level recommendations for the regulation, supervision and oversight of both cryptoasset markets and activities, and global stablecoin arrangements. It will focus particularly on the: (i) regulatory frameworks and implementation status; (ii) data reporting; (iii) cross-border cooperation; and (iv) stablecoins. The FSB expects to publish the peer review report in October.

The FSB is seeking feedback from stakeholders as part of its thematic peer review and a questionnaire has been distributed to relevant jurisdictions to collect information. The FSB invites feedback on issues such as: (a) the impact of jurisdictional regulatory frameworks on decisions of cryptoasset issuers and service providers; (b) experiences and challenges faced by cryptoasset market participants in meeting the relevant regulatory and supervisory requirements; (c) how financial stability vulnerabilities of cryptoasset activities differ across jurisdictions; and (d) whether there are specific market practices and/or trends in certain geographies and/or segments that may pose a threat to financial stability.

Feedback should be submitted by 28 March.

Two delegated acts were published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ) in respect of the EU MiCAR.

• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/303, which comprises regulatory technical standards specifying the information to be included by certain financial entities in the notification of their intent to provide crypto-asset services.
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/304, which comprises implementing technical standards for the standard forms, templates and procedures for the notification by certain financial entities of their intention to provide crypto-asset services.

Both sets of technical standards concern the notification requirements applied to certain firms seeking to provide crypto-asset services, where article 60 of MiCAR imposes a requirement to supply specified information to the competent authority of the applicant's home member state at least 40 working days before providing those services. The Delegated and Implementing Regulations will enter into force on the twentieth day following their publication in the OJ.

Two delegated acts were published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ) in respect of the EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). These are:

• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/301, which comprises regulatory technical standards specifying the content and time limits for the initial notification of, and intermediate and final report on, major ICT-related incidents, and the content of the voluntary notification for significant cyber threats.
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/302, which comprises implementing technical standards for the standard forms, templates and procedures for financial entities to report a major ICT-related incident and to notify a significant cyber threat.

Both sets of technical standards relate to ICT-related incident management, one of the key pillars of the DORA legislation, and are mandated by article 20 of DORA which seeks to harmonise reporting content and templates in relation to ICT-related incidents and cyber threats. The Delegated and Implementing Regulations will enter into force on the twentieth day following their publication in the OJ.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published technical standards in relation to the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR) Refit. There are three final reports with the draft technical standards that have been published. The first report covers the review and evaluation process of EU central securities depositories (CSDs), setting a harmonised approach for the information-sharing of CSDs and including a one-year implementation period for new reporting data that requires CSDs to update their processes (article 22 CSDR). The second report covers the assessment of whether an EU CSD in a host member state could be considered of substantial importance for the functioning of securities markets and investor protection (article 24a(13) CSDR). The third relates to notification requirements for third-country CSDs and aims to streamline the notification process (articles 25 and 69 CSDR). The final reports and draft technical standards have been submitted to the European Commission for adoption.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has published a press release confirming its decision to expand its initiative to settle transactions recorded on distributed ledger technology (DLT) in central bank money. The press release confirms that the Eurosystem will develop a settlement platform that is interoperable with trans-European automated real-time gross settlement express transfer system (referred to as TARGET) services, and will also consider a more integrated, long-term solution for settling DLT transactions in central bank money which will include international considerations. This expansion follows the Eurosystem's work last year on new technologies for wholesale central bank money settlement, which comprised various settlement experiments and included bank, financial market and DLT platform participants.

Representatives of the UK government and regulators spoke at the UK T+1 Accelerated Settlement Market industry event to confirm their support of the UK's move to a T+1 settlement cycle. The Economic Secretary to the Treasury confirmed that the government accepted the UK's Accelerated Settlement Taskforce's (AST) recommendation to move to T+1 on 11 October 2027. Mark Francis, Interim Director, Wholesale Sell-Side at the FCA and Sasha Mills, Executive Director, Financial Market Infrastructure at the Bank of England both gave speeches in support of the move and confirming regulatory expectation that the industry would work together to achieve this. In addition, on 19 February, the FCA published a new webpage, confirming that the FCA expects firms to engage with the recommendations of the AST to understand which are relevant for them, determine what is required to move to a T+1 settlement cycle, and plan early to deliver this transition. This can include budget considerations, operational systems changes and testing, agreements with third party providers and counterparty arrangements. The FCA may have discussions with firms directly or via trade associations to understand how firms are preparing for the deadline. Alongside their webpage, the FCA have also published a press release confirming their support.

The UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has published its updated approach to policy under the regulatory framework as set out in UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The approach document has been amended following the consultation (CP27/23) and is published with the PRA's policy statement which provides feedback to the consultation responses. The CP had, in particular, asked for feedback on the PRA's secondary competitiveness and growth objective, the implementation of international standards, and stakeholder engagement, in the context of the PRA's enhanced objective and accountability requirements introduced by FSMA 2023.

With regard to the secondary competitiveness and growth objective, the PRA reiterates a number of the points raised by the Independent Evaluation Office during its evaluation of the PRA's approach to its new objective, including the PRA's clarification that the most appropriate way to advance the secondary competitiveness and growth objective is to take forward a wide range of initiatives across its general functions, rather than via a single flagship initiative.

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The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the UK Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) have issued a joint feedback statement on the usage and impact of big tech and digital wallets (FS25/1). The feedback statement was accompanied by a press release and joint letter to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) regarding the CMA's invitation to comment on investigations in relation to certain mobile ecosystems. The feedback statement highlights four potential issues around big tech and digital wallets:

• First, there are competition concerns as between different digital wallets (and mobile ecosystems).
• In addition, there are competition concerns as between payment systems within digital wallets, particularly where digital wallets do not provide a choice of payment methods except for cards.
• Operational resilience and consumer rights and protection are an issue, given that reliance on digital wallets could impact the financial system's resilience if consumers do not have other means of payment.
• Finally, there are regulatory perimeter questions around whether the regulatory framework should include digital wallets in order to be more effective (although some responses raised concerns that this approach may hinder innovation).

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HM Treasury (HMT) has published a response to UK's Accelerated Settlement Taskforce (AST) report recommending a plan for the UK to move to a T+1 settlement cycle for securities trades. HMT accepts the recommendation of 12 'critical' and 26 'highly recommended' actions to facilitate a successful transition to T+1 and will introduce legislation making this change. HMT further accepts the recommendation of T+1 coming into effect on Monday 11 October 2027 and will legislate for T+1 to be mandatory from this date forward. On this basis, firms should now begin preparations for 11 October 2027 to be the first day of trading under a T+1 standard. HMT is engaging with European partners to support aligning this outcome with the EU markets.

In addition, HMT has also published a policy paper on the Terms of Reference of the Accelerated Settlement Taskforce, confirming that they have accepted all recommendations made and to update the objectives and governance structure of the Taskforce as it moves into the next phase of its work. HMT also published a press release on the move to T+1 and the broader UK growth and competitiveness agenda.

The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have published a roadmap for the designation of critical ICT third-party service providers (CTPPs) under the EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). The roadmap of key dates between now and the end of the year. The roadmap sets out four milestones:

• By 30 April, the ESAs will collect the registers of information that financial entities submitted to the competent authorities.
• By the end of July, the ESAs will perform criticality assessments required under DORA and notify third-party service providers if they are classified as critical.
• By the first half of September, there will be a hearing period where ICT third-party service providers may object to the assessment, with a reasoned statement and supporting information.
• By the end of this year, the ESAs will have designated and published the list of CTPPs and started the oversight engagement.

Alongside the roadmap, the European Banking Authority published a press release confirming that ICT third-party service providers not designated as critical may voluntarily request to be designated as critical once the list of CTPPs is published, with details of how to make such a request to be provided soon. The ESAs also plan to organised a workshop with ICT third-party providers in Q2 this year, with details to be published in due course.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a consultation paper containing draft guidelines on supplements which introduce new securities to a base prospectus. This is further to the new EU Listing Act provision at article 23(4a) of the Prospectus Regulation that a supplement cannot be used to introduce a new type of security for which the necessary information has not been included in the base prospectus, and ESMA's mandate under new article 23(8) to develop guidelines to specify the circumstances in which a supplement is to be considered a new type of security that is not already described in a base prospectus.

ESMA is proposing the draft Guidelines to align member state practice on when a supplement is to be considered to introduce a new type of security in view of longstanding divergence in the supervision of "product supplements" (meaning supplements considered to introduce a new type of security that is not already described in a base prospectus).

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The EU T+1 Coordination Committee has published its summary of a meeting held on 6 February 2025. At the meeting, the European Commission representative indicated that the proposal to amend EU CSDR to shorten the securities settlement cycle was expected to be adopted shortly. A key point raised by the chair of the Industry Committee was that the strong will of the Industry Committee to exempt securities financing transactions from the T+1 requirement, and that it was important for the EU to align with the UK on this point. The meeting also discussed the consultation paper (which was published on 13 February 2025) and the chair of the Industry Committee provided updates on the workstreams and workplan, and a timetable for deliverables.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a consultation paper on the guidelines for the criteria on the assessment of knowledge and competence under Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR). The guidelines relate to natural persons giving advice or information about crypto-assets or a crypto-asset service. In terms of approach, ESMA has taken as a reference the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive guidelines on the assessment of knowledge and competence.

ESMA proposes four guidelines. The first guideline is a general guideline to ensure that crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) take sufficient steps to ensure that their staff providing information or advice on crypto-assets or crypto-asset services possess the necessary knowledge and competence to fulfil their obligations. This includes an understanding of how to apply the CASPs internal policies and procedures designed to comply with MiCAR. Guideline two concerns criteria for staff giving information about the relevant crypto-assets or crypto-asset services. Guideline three concerns criteria for staff giving advice about crypto-assets or crypto-asset services, and addresses the minimum requirements for professional qualification and professional experience, as well as the minimum number of hours of continuous professional development or training per year. Finally, guideline four on organisational requirements states that CASPs' organisational requirements should ensure that the knowledge and competence of the staff giving information and advice on crypto-assets or crypto-asset services is assessed, maintained and updated appropriately.

The deadline for comments is 22 April. ESMA will publish a final report and guidelines in Q3 this year.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published advice from the Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group (SMSG) on the ESMA consultation paper on draft technical advice on investment research. The technical advice relates to changes to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) regime for investment research in the context of the EU Listing Act legislative package. These changes allow for joint payments to be made for execution services and research, subject to certain conditions. The ESMA consultation paper proposed amendments to article 13 of Directive (EU) 2017/593 (referred to as the MiFID Delegated Directive).

The SMSG advice includes a summary of findings from academic studies on MiFID research provisions, and notes that there has been an improvement in research quality and mitigation of conflicts of interest, but a reduction in the overall quantity of research. The SMSG advice also notes that there has been a shift from traditional sell-side research to sponsored research for SMEs, and that there is a trend among asset managers to continue to pay for research separately (even in circumstances where they would be able to pay for it jointly with other services) due to the operational complexity of running two separate invoicing systems. The deadline for ESMA to deliver its technical advice to the European Commission is 30 April 2025.

The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have published joint guidelines on the system established by the for the exchange of information relevant to the assessment of the fitness and propriety in the official EU languages. The joint guidelines were published previously with a final report on 20 November 2024, and relate to the assessment of fitness and propriety of holders of qualifying holdings, directors and key function holders of financial institutions and financial market participants. The ESAs have developed a system which consists of a cross-sectoral database and these joint guidelines, with the aim of fostering a timely exchange of information between competent authorities. The guidelines in relation to data input in respect of natural persons and confidentiality apply from 17 February 2025, with the remaining guidelines applying in respect of natural persons from 15 May 2025. For legal persons, the guidelines in relation to data input apply from 30 January 2026, with the remaining guidelines applying from 30 April 2026.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a final report on the technical standards on the external reviewer regime under the European Green Bonds Regulation (EuGB). The regime requires external reviews of the pre-issuance factsheet and allocation report after full allocation of proceeds, and imposes certain requirements on external reviewers. The final report covers the regulatory technical standards (RTS) in relation to: (i) assessing senior management, board members and others involved in assessment activities; (ii) assessing sound and prudent management and conflicts of interest management; (iii) assessing knowledge and experience of analysts; and (iv) criteria applicable to outsourcing of assessment activities.

Respondents were broadly in support of ESMA's proposals. However, a key architectural change has been made in that the RTS on assessing knowledge and experience of analysts (under article 28(1) of the EuGB Regulation) has been merged into the RTS on assessing senior management, board members and others involved in assessment activities (under article 23(6) of the EuGB Regulation).

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The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has updated its webpage on transparency waivers and deferrals in light of the upcoming changes to the UK MiFIR transparency regime for bond and derivatives markets. The FCA added a notice to the webpage stating that, before applying, firms may wish to consider the implications of these changes as confirmed in the relevant policy statement, PS24/14. The notice highlights, in particular, the transitional amendments that have been made in respect of voice and request for quote (RFQ) trading systems, which will apply from 31 March 2025 in advance of the new rules, which will come into force on 1 December. The transitional requirement, set out in MAR TP 2 1.4R, confirms that for the period between 31 March 2025 and 30 November 2025, trading venue operators are not subject to certain pre-transparency requirements for non-equity instruments in respect of an RFQ system or voice trading system when operated by the trading venue operator.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published information setting out its expectations for firms applying for collective investment schemes to be authorised as authorised unit trusts, authorised contractual schemes and authorised open-ended investment companies. The information covers specific questions as well as main areas to help applicants understand where they may need to provide further detail. Among other topics, the publication covers the FCA's expectations in relation to environmental, social and governance strategies and sustainability disclosure requirement (SDR) labels, and long-term asset funds which fund managers may find useful. For such funds, the FCA highlights that it expects applications intending to comply with SDR label rules to include the relevant aspects for the specific label as set out in the FCA rules and the FCA's policy statement PS23/16.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a press release confirming the launch of a Common Supervisory Action (CSA) with national competent authorities on compliance and internal audit functions of management companies of undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) and alternative investment fund managers in the EU. The CSA will assess the effectiveness of fund managers' compliance and internal audit functions in accordance with the relevant applicable provisions of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers and the UCITS Directives, looking at the adequacy of staffing, authority, knowledge and expertise. ESMA will publish the final report in 2026.

The UK government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport has published the Dormant Assets Parliamentary Review for the period from February 2022 to February 2025 in accordance with the Dormant Assets Act 2022. The review considers the expansion of the UK Dormant Assets Scheme, which allows firms to pay dormant monies to an authorised reclaim fund to fund good causes. Previously, the Scheme was available only to banks and building societies, but has been expanded to include the insurance and pensions, investment and wealth management, and securities sectors. Overall, the review found that the Scheme continues to deliver operational value and prioritise customer protection, but progress to operationalise the expanded scope of the Scheme has been slower than expected. This had been mainly due to barriers which relate to the expansion to the investment and wealth management sector which have now been resolved; in particular, certain UK regulatory rules which have now been amended, and a voluntary requirement that prohibited the authorised reclaim fund from accepting dormant investment assets which was lifted in January 2025. The review also presents data in relation to the transfers into, and payments out of, the Scheme over the relevant period. The next report will be laid in Parliament by February 2030.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has updated its webpage on extending the sustainability disclosure requirements (SDR) and labelling regime to portfolio managers, confirming that it no longer intends to publish a policy statement this year. The FCA had previously stated that, further to consultation paper CP24/8, it would publish a policy statement with final rules in the second half of this year. However, the updated webpage states that the FCA wants to ensure that the extension of the SDR and labelling regime delivers good outcomes for consumers, is practical for firms, and supports growth of the sector and so will continue to reflect on feedback and publish an update in due course. As a reminder, the SDR regime was originally introduced in November 2023, applying a new anti-greenwashing rule to all FCA-authorised firms and a range of disclosure, labelling and naming/marketing requirements to certain UK asset managers.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has updated its webpage on its consultation paper CP23/24: capital deduction for redress: personal investment firms. The consultation was issued in response to the FCA identifying significant redress liabilities falling to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, in order to strengthen prudential requirements so that personal investment firms have to hold more capital for redress. The consultation is now closed, and the FCA has updated its webpage to confirm that it is considering feedback. However, the updated webpage also confirms that the FCA is looking across at feedback linked to other proposals including the call for input on modernising the redress framework, and its review of regulatory requirements following the introduction of the Consumer Duty. The FCA also confirms that it will continue to carry out increased monitoring of firms as part of its authorisation process, and highlights the update it published in January which sets out FCA expectations on redress liabilities, and what firms should and should not do to tackle polluting behaviour and meet their redress liabilities.

The European Commission (EC) has adopted a Commission Delegated Regulation supplementing the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) with regard to RTS specifying the criteria used for identifying financial entities required to perform threat-led penetration testing (TLPT). Article 26(11) of DORA mandates the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), in agreement with the European Central Bank (ECB), to develop joint draft RTS in accordance with the ECB's European framework for threat intelligence-based ethical red teaming (TIBER-EU framework) to specify further the following: (i) the criteria to identify financial entities required to perform TLPT; (ii) the requirements regarding test scope, testing methodology and results of TLPT; (iii) the requirements and standards governing the use of internal testers; and (iv) the rules on supervisory and other cooperation needed for the implementation of TLPT and for mutual recognition of testing. The Delegated Regulation will enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. The ECB has also published an updated version of the TIBOR-EU framework that aligns with the DORA RTS on TLPT.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a consultation paper on a Delegated Regulation amending Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1229, which supplements the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR) with regard to RTS on settlement discipline.

The Regulation amending the CSDR (CSDR Refit) introduced in Article 6(5) and Article 7(10) of the CSDR two mandates for ESMA to develop draft RTS in relation to settlement discipline measures and tools to improve settlement efficiency. ESMA plans to fulfil these mandates by amending Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1229, including on timing and means for sending allocations and confirmations, on requiring all central securities depositories (CSDs) to offer hold and release and partial settlement functionalities and to enable automated use of intraday cash credit secured with collateral, as well as on the requirements for CSDs to report top failing participants, and the information on settlement fails to be published by CSDs. ESMA also explores additional tools to improve settlement efficiency, for which ESMA's preliminary view is that no regulatory action is required, but on which it would nevertheless like to receive stakeholders' views. These include topics such as the CSD business day schedule, the Standard Settlement Instructions format, the Unique Transaction Identifier (UTI), Place of Settlement (PSET) and Place of Safekeeping (PSAF). The deadline for comments is 14 April. ESMA expects to publish a final report and submit the draft RTS to the European Commission by October.