The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a final report and final draft Regulatory Technical Standards to amend the EU clearing and trading derivative obligations for the benchmark transition to risk-free rates. To support the transition away from EONIA and LIBOR to risk-free rates such as €STR, ESMA is proposing to amend the scope of the derivatives clearing and trading obligations for interest rate derivatives denominated in EUR, GBP, JPY and USD. In particular, ESMA is proposing to:

• Remove IRD classes referencing GBP and USD LIBOR from the clearing and trading obligations.
• Remove IRD classes referencing EONIA and JPY LIBOR from the clearing obligation.
• Introduce a clearing obligation for IRD classes referencing €STR, SONIA and SOFR.

The draft RTS have been submitted to the European Commission for endorsement.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has confirmed that the use of  certain synthetic sterling and yen LIBOR settings will be permitted until the end of 2022 for legacy LIBOR-referencing contracts, other than cleared derivatives, that have not been changed or updated ahead of December 31, 2021. The synthetic rates cannot be used in any new contracts.

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The Bank of England has written to the CEOs of all regulated U.K. financial market infrastructures notifying them that they are no longer expected to discuss prospective shareholder distributions with the BoE.

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European Commissioner McGuinness has announced that in early 2022 the European Commission will be proposing an extension of the time-limited equivalence granted to U.K. CCPs. The existing equivalence decision is due to expire at the end of June 2022. The Commissioner reiterated that the EU would continue to build out the capability of EU CCPs to reduce the reliance on U.K. CCPs. Furthermore, the EU will seek to strengthen the supervisory powers for EU-level supervision of CCPs.

The Bank of England and HM Treasury have announced the next steps in the development of a U.K. Central Bank Digital Currency. 

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HM Treasury has launched a consultation, the Financial Services Future Regulatory Framework Review: Proposals for Reform. The consultation paper presents the government's response to the feedback received to the October 2020 FRF Review consultation and numerous proposals to progress the approach. Responses to the consultation may be submitted until February 9, 2022. 

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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published an environmental, social and governance strategy to support the financial sector in the transition to a "net zero", more sustainable and more inclusive economy.

The FCA's strategy is built on five themes supported by key actions that the FCA anticipates taking in the near future. U.K. regulated firms should expect significant engagement by the FCA on these issues.

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The U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has announced the U.K. Government's plans to make the U.K. the world's first net zero financial centre. Under the plans, U.K. financial institutions will need to have robust transition plans describing how they will support the transition to a carbon neutral economy. The U.K. Government intends to introduce legislative measures to make these requirements mandatory with a view to increased adoption by 2023 and will incorporate standards for these transition plans into its proposed Sustainability Disclosure Requirements, announced in October in its policy paper, Greening Finance: A Roadmap to Sustainable Investing, further details of which are set out in our related client note.

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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a discussion paper on its proposed Sustainability Disclosure Requirements and sustainable investment labels. The FCA is seeking initial views on these proposals with the intention of consulting on fuller policy proposals in Q2 2022. Responses to the discussion paper may be submitted until January 7, 2022. These proposals link to the U.K. government's ambitions on climate change and green finance, detailed in its October policy paper, Greening Finance: A Roadmap to Sustainable Investing, further details of which are set out in our related client note.

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The European Banking Authority is consulting on draft Regulatory Technical Standards to amend the existing RTS on strong customer authentication and common and secure open standards of communication under the EU Payment Services Directive (known as PSD2). Responses to the consultation may be submitted until November 25, 2021.

PSD2 requires payment service providers to apply SCA each time a customer accesses their payment account online. The existing RTS govern the process by which payment service providers authenticate the identity of customers and provide exemptions to the SCA requirements. One of the exemptions is available, on a voluntary basis, when a customer accesses limited payment account information, provided that SCA is applied for the first access and at least every 90 days subsequently. The EBA is proposing to make the exemption mandatory for PSPs where the account information is accessed through an account information service provider, subject to certain conditions being met to ensure the safety of the user's data. The exemption would remain voluntary when a user directly accesses the account information.

The European Securities and Markets Authority has issued a statement on the requirements under the EU Market Abuse Regulation for firms and individuals that make investment recommendations on social media.  ESMA is concerned about the potential harm to retail investors who may base their investment decisions on information made available on social media sites, in particular in situations such as the Gamestop case.  The EU rules, which are designed to prevent the misleading of investors, apply to anyone based in or outside the EU that distributes information proposing an investment decision about EU financial instruments listed in the EU or financial instruments that depend on or effect the price or value of a listed financial instrument. 

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The European Commission has published three legislative proposals to amend the EU Capital Requirements Regulation and the EU Capital Requirements Directive, referred to as the Banking Package 2021. The proposals are subject to consultation, responses to which may be submitted until January 14, 2022.

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The International Organization of Securities Commissions has published an updated Principles on Outsourcing for regulated market participants in the securities markets.  The updated Principles are based on IOSCO’s 2005 Outsourcing Principles for Market Intermediaries and 2009 Outsourcing Principles for Markets.  However, the updated Principles will also apply to trading venues, market intermediaries, market participants acting on a proprietary basis, and credit rating agencies.  Financial market infrastructures may also choose to consider their application, although the Principles are not addressed to those entities.

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An international consultation has been launched on the review of margining practices in the centrally and non-centrally cleared markets. The consultation is being run jointly by the Basel Committee for Banking Standards, the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures and the International Organization of Securities Commissions. In March 2020, around the start of the COVID pandemic, large increases in margin occurred in the centrally and non-centrally cleared markets, furthering the so-called "dash for cash".

The consultation is considering a range of potential changes to the international framework, such as:

• increasing transparency in the centrally cleared market;
• enhancing liquidity preparedness of market participants as well as liquidity disclosures;
• identifying data gaps in regulatory reporting;
• streamlining variation margin processes in centrally and non-centrally cleared markets;
• further work on evaluating the responsiveness of centrally cleared initial margin models to market stresses with a focus on impacts and implications for CCP resources and the wider financial system; and
• evaluating the responsiveness of non-centrally cleared initial margin models to market stresses.

The European Supervisory Authorities (the European Securities and Markets Authority, the European Banking Authority and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) have published a new final report and draft Regulatory Technical Standards on disclosures to be made under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. The EU SFDR was published in December 2019 and the majority of its provisions have applied since March 10, 2021.

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An EU Commission Delegated Regulation (2021/1833) on the criteria for when an activity will be considered as ancillary to the main business has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union.  The changes to the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, known as MiFID Quick Fix, include changes to the ancillary activity exemption.  The exemption from authorization as an investment firm is available when dealing on own account, or providing investment services to clients in commodity derivatives, emission allowances or derivatives thereof, provided that the activity is an ancillary activity to their main business at group level and the main business is not the provision of investment services within the meaning of MiFID II or banking activities under the Capital Requirements Directive.

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The European Supervisory Authorities have launched a call for evidence on the EU's Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products Regulation. The PRIIPs Regulation requires manufacturers of PRIIPs to produce a standardized Key Information Document in an official language of all EU countries into which offerings are made. It also requires those advising on or selling PRIIPs to provide retail investors with KIDs in good time before the investor enters into the investment. The call for evidence closes on December 16, 2021.

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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published its annual Perimeter Report. The report discusses the FCA's existing remit and highlights areas where potential consumer harm could be mitigated if the regulatory perimeter is amended. The FCA cannot amend the perimeter, this can only be achieved through legislation.

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The European Securities and Markets Authority has announced that Verena Ross will take up the position of Chair of ESMA from November 1, 2021. Ms. Ross will replace Steven Maijoor, the former Chair. Her appointment is for a five-year term, renewable once.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has issued a press release announcing that its current chair, Charles Randell CBE, will be resigning early from his position in Spring 2022. Mr. Randell wrote to the Chancellor informing him of the decision to step down as chair of the FCA and the Payment Systems Regulator. Mr. Randell has been Chair of the FCA and PSR since April 1, 2018. The resignation comes just 10 days after the FCA was provided with a preliminary report by the Financial Regulators Complaints Commission concerning the FCA's handling of the London Capital & Finance scandal, which is due to be published in the next month and has been reported by the press to be critical of the FCA.

Following its July 2021 consultation, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a Policy Statement amending the list of derivatives subject to the U.K. trading obligation for the purposes of the LIBOR transition.

The derivatives trading obligation under the U.K. version of the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation requires U.K. investment firms to conclude transactions in certain derivatives on U.K. regulated markets, multilateral trading facilities, organised trading facilities or third-country venues in jurisdictions benefiting from U.K. equivalence decisions. In the absence of any equivalence decision, the FCA used its Temporary Transitional Power to provide transitional relief from December 31, 2020 (the end of the transition period) until March 31, 2022 for U.K. firms, EU firms using the U.K.'s temporary permissions regime and U.K. branches of overseas firms. The trading obligation currently applies to certain fixed-to-float interest rate swaps denominated in EUR, USD and GBP, and to certain index credit default swaps (iTraxx Europe Main and iTraxx Europe Crossover).

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HM Treasury has announced the U.K. Secondary Capital Raising Review, requesting recommendations on improving the U.K. capital raising process for publicly traded companies. The Review stems from Lord Hill's recommendations in the U.K. Listing Review, published in March 2021, which proposed that consideration should be given to improving the efficiency of further capital raisings by listed issuers, including by re-establishing the Rights Issue Review Group and assessing capital raising models used in other jurisdictions.

A Call for Evidence has been issued, as the first step in the Review, calling for feedback on the key themes of the Review, including:

• Reduction of the overall duration and cost of the existing U.K. rights issue process and how that could be achieved.
• The role that new technology plays in the process to ensure that shareholders receive relevant information in a timely fashion and can exercise their rights.
• Fund-raising models in other jurisdictions that should be considered for use in the U.K.
• Improved transparency introduced by the Short Selling Regulation.
• The potential for refining the undocumented secondary capital raising process.

Responses to the Call for Evidence may be submitted until November 16, 2021.

HM Treasury has published a response to the Payments Landscape Review call for evidence.  The government sets out the key areas and steps for government, regulators, and industry to achieve a payments sector at the vanguard of technology and innovation.  

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The Bank of England has launched a consultation proposing to subject Overnight Index Swaps (OIS) that reference the Tokyo Overnight Average rate (TONA) to the U.K. derivatives clearing obligation under the U.K. version of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation. The BoE has already decided to remove contracts referencing JPY LIBOR from the clearing obligation starting December 6, 2021. Following recent announcements made by the Japanese authorities, the BoE now considers it appropriate to replace contracts referencing JPY LIBOR with contracts referencing TONA. The planned change would apply from December 6, 2021 or shortly thereafter. Responses to the consultation may be submitted until October 27, 2021.

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The Bank of England has published a Policy Statement and final changes to the contracts subject to the derivatives clearing obligation under the U.K. version of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation. The U.K. onshored European Market Infrastructure Regulation imposes a clearing obligation on U.K. firms that are counterparties to certain OTC derivatives contracts. The clearing obligation applies to Interest Rate Swaps denominated in seven currencies (EUR, GBP, JPY, USD, NOK, PLN and SEK) and to two classes of credit default swap indices (iTraxx Europe Main and iTraxx Europe Crossover). The details are set out in three sets of Binding Technical Standards—Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2205, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/592 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1178.

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The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a review report on algorithmic trading under the EU's Markets in Financial Instruments package. The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive requires the European Commission to review and report on the impact of the MiFID II requirements on algorithmic trading, including high frequency trading and direct electronic access. ESMA's report will assist the Commission with that remit, including determining whether any legislative changes are appropriate.

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The European Commission has published a study on EU banks’ integration of environmental, social and governance factors into their risk management processes, business strategies and investment policies. The study finds that, although banks have made efforts to pursue ESG agendas, the speed and degree of integration of ESG considerations must accelerate. In addition, it finds that prudential supervisors could take more action to integrate ESG factors into their supervision of banks. Further details of the challenges facing banks and supervisors in ESG integration are set out in the study. 

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The European Securities and Markets Authority has launched a consultation on proposed amendments to the best execution reporting regime under the EU's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive. Responses to the consultation may be submitted by December 23, 2021. ESMA is expected to send its recommendations for amendments to the European Commission in H1 2022.

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The European Securities and Markets Authority has published a letter to the European Commission urging the Commission to delay the buy-in regime under the Central Securities Depositories Regulation. The EU CSDR provides a harmonized regulatory and prudential regime for central securities depositories and increases the robustness and resilience of securities settlement arrangements. The Commission consulted in 2020 on proposals to improve securities settlement in the EU and on central securities depositories, and legislative proposals are expected before the end of 2021.

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HM Treasury has made certain amendments under the U.K. Capital Requirements Regulation (Amendment) Regulations 2021 to the U.K. Capital Requirements Regulation. The UK CRR is the U.K. version of the corresponding EU regulation, as applicable after Brexit. The new regulations introduce some new provisions and revoke certain others. The related explanatory memorandum describes the changes in further detail. The changes will come into force on January 1, 2022.

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The European Securities and Markets Authority is consulting on proposed amendments to the EU Short Selling Regulation. ESMA is reviewing the SSR provisions following two occurrences of market volatility. The first is the market reactions to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related regulatory response where numerous and varied short sale bans were imposed by various EU member states. The second is the market turmoil in the U.S. markets and elsewhere for so-called meme stocks, such as Gamestop. Responses to the consultation may be submitted by November 19, 2021, and ESMA is expected to publish its report to the European Commission early in 2022.

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The Bank of England has written to the CEOs of Central Counterparties, Central Securities Depositories, Recognised Payment System Operators and Specified Service Providers subject to the BoE’s supervision, drawing their attention to the BoE’s expectations of material outsourcing arrangements, including the use of the public cloud.

The letters observe that in Q2 2021, the BoE’s Financial Policy Committee found that financial institutions had scaled up their reliance on cloud service providers since the start of 2020, leading to an increasing reliance on a small number of providers and a potential increase in financial stability risk. Reliance on third parties by CCPs, CSDs, RPSOs and SSPs is subject to existing legislation and the Principles for Financial Markets Infrastructure, which the BoE expects firms to comply with. Firms are also expected to have regard to the BoE’s policy on operational resilience and any relevant international standards.

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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a consultation paper on proposals to change its decision-making process. The objective of these proposals is to make the FCA a nimbler regulator that can make faster and more effective decisions. Responses to the consultation may be submitted until September 17, 2021. The FCA intends to publish a Policy Statement before the end of the year, likely in November, and envisages that the revised decision-making framework would start in November, too. Any cases that are being considered by the Regulatory Decisions Committee would remain with the RDC under the existing processes.

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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has opened a consultation on proposals to amend the requirements on diversity and inclusion on listed company boards and executive committees. The proposals include changes to the Listing Rules and the Disclosure and Transparency Rules, including guidance. The consultation closes on October 20, 2021. The FCA intends to publish final rules before the end of 2021 and for the new requirements to apply to accounting periods starting on or after January 1, 2022. This means that annual financial reports published for 2022 in spring 2023 would include the reporting changes.

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Following its consultation earlier this year, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published final changes to its listing rules for special purpose acquisition companies that will come into effect on August 10, 2021. SPACs are companies set up for the purpose of raising money from investors to fund the acquisition of an operating business. They have attracted much attention over the last year as an alternative way for target companies to go public without going through the traditional initial public offering process. The initial decision to adjust the U.K. approach to SPACs was one of the recommendations made by Lord Hill in the U.K. Listings Review.

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The Bank of England has published two documents on the U.K.’s bank recovery and resolution regime: a consultation on its approach to setting minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities and an operational guide to the execution of bail-in in the U.K. In a statement on the publications, the BoE’s Deputy Governor for Markets and Banking explained that, while progress has been made in ensuring the resolvability of U.K. firms, there is more work to do to address resolvability risks. The consultation paper and operational guide form part of the U.K.’s maturing recovery and resolution regime. 

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The U.K. government has launched a review of the U.K.’s anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing regulatory and supervisory regime with the publication of a call for evidence. The government is assessing the overall effectiveness and extent of the regime, whether key elements operate as intended, and the structure of the supervisory regime. On the same day, the government also published a consultation on proposed targeted changes to the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, referred to as the MLRs. That consultation is focused on the changes needed to ensure the U.K. regime meets international standards. Responses to the call for evidence may be submitted until October 14, 2021. A final report on the findings of the review and, where relevant, possible reform will be published no later than June 26, 2022, in line with the review requirement in the MLRs.

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The U.K. government has opened a consultation on proposed targeted changes to the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, referred to as the MLRs. The consultation focuses on the time-sensitive changes that are needed to ensure that the U.K. requirements meet international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force and to strengthen the overall requirements. The government has also opened a call for evidence on the U.K.’s anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing regulatory and supervisory regime, which is considering the overall effectiveness and extent of the regime, whether key elements operate as intended, and the structure of the supervisory regime. Responses to the MLRs’ consultation may be submitted until October 14, 2021. These MLR amendments will be implemented through secondary legislation due to be laid in Spring 2022.

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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published proposals to amend the scope of the rules governing packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (or PRIIPs). The FCA's proposals are designed to bring legal certainty to the scope of the PRIIPs regime, as it applies to corporate bonds. The consultation also addresses issues of misleading performance scenarios and summary risk indicators and concerns about the transaction costs calculation methodology. It is hoped that the amendments will promote liquidity and improve choice in the retail corporate bond market and also reduce the complexity of key information documents (or KIDs), the key information disclosure documents that must accompany PRIIPs when they are made available to retail investors.

Responses to the FCA's PRIIPs consultation should be submitted by September 30, 2021. The FCA is aiming to finalize the amendments by the end of this year and for the changes to take effect on January 1, 2022.

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HM Treasury has published a consultation paper seeking feedback on its proposals for the extension of the Senior Managers’ and Certification Regime to certain U.K. financial market infrastructures. The SMCR was originally implemented for U.K. banks in 2016, extended to all U.K. authorized firms in December 2019, and further extended to U.K. benchmark administrators in December 2020. The government is seeking views on whether and, if so, how the SMCR should be extended to FMIs as well as the proportionate application of it to FMIs. Responses to the consultation on the SMR for FMIs should be submitted by October 22, 2021.

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The European Commission is consulting on improving transparency and efficiency in the EU secondary markets for non-performing loans. The objective is to provide a more liquid market by improving the quantity, quality and comparability of NPL data. The consultation was announced in December 2020 as part of the Commission’s Strategy for post-Covid-19 NPLs. Responses to the consultation may be submitted until September 8, 2021.

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HM Treasury has announced a new independent group, called the Green Technical Advisory Group, to help tackle “greenwashing” and create a U.K. green taxonomy. “Greenwashing” refers to unsubstantiated or exaggerated claims that an investment is environmentally friendly. GTAG’s main remit is to advise HM Treasury on developing and implementing a U.K. green taxonomy, comprising technical screening criteria. GTAG consists of financial services industry representatives, non-financial services representatives, taxonomy and climate experts. HM Treasury, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England will be observers. GTAG is expected to provide initial recommendations to HM Treasury as early as September of this year.

View the GTAG Terms of Reference. 

The European Securities and Markets Authority has launched a consultation on proposed revisions to the Guidelines for when issuers can delay the disclosure of inside information in accordance with the EU Market Abuse Regulation. Responses to the consultation should be submitted by August 27, 2021. ESMA intends to publish a final report including its amended Guidelines at the end of 2021.
 
Issuers of financial instruments that fall within the scope of the EU MAR must publicly disclose, as soon as possible, inside information that directly concerns them. "Inside information" is information that: (i) is not public; (ii) directly or indirectly relates to one or more issuers of financial instruments; (iii) is of a precise nature; and (iv) is likely, if made public, to have a significant effect on the relevant prices of those financial instruments or related derivative financial instruments.

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The Financial Stability Board has published a series of three climate-related reports as part of its roadmap for addressing climate-related financial risks. The global risks to financial stability posed by climate change are being addressed by a number of international initiatives and the FSB hopes to utilize its diverse membership to coordinate efforts internationally. The FSB's reports are:

• a Roadmap for Addressing Climate-Related Financial Risks, which sets out a plan to address climate-related financial risks;
• a report on The Availability of Data with Which to Monitor and Assess Climate-Related Risks to Financial Stability, which reviews the availability of data to monitor and assess climate-related risks to financial stability and outlines priorities to address gaps in data; and
• a report on Promoting Climate-related Disclosures, which provides recommendations to financial regulators in developing frameworks for climate-related disclosures.

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, Prudential Regulation Authority and the Bank of England (as regulator for financial market infrastructure) have published a discussion paper on diversity and inclusion in the financial sector. Feedback to the discussion paper may be submitted until September 30, 2021. It is expected that the FCA and PRA will consult on detailed proposals in Q1 2022 and aim to issue final Policy Statements in Q3 2022. The regulators aim to develop policy, rules and guidance that set clear minimum expectations and note that they will be prepared to use their regulatory powers where a firm fails to meet those expectations. The regulators intend to introduce any new requirements proportionately.

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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has launched a consultation on changes to the U.K. listing regime. This consultation follows the recommendations made by Lord Hill in the U.K. Listing Review as well as the Kalifa Review of FinTech. Responses to the consultation may be submitted until September 14, 2021.

The U.K. government is currently consulting on changes to the U.K. prospectus regime, having launched the U.K. Prospectus Review last week.

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The U.K. government has begun a consultation on proposals to reform the U.K. prospectus regime. This much anticipated consultation sets out proposals based on the important recommendations made in the U.K. Listing Review, which was chaired by Lord Hill. Responses to the consultation should be submitted by September 24, 2021.

The final changes to the prospectus regime will be made through legislation and the rules of the Financial Conduct Authority, following consultation. The existing U.K. Prospectus Regulation will be replaced, in whole or part, by FCA rules.

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The U.K. government has launched a consultation, the Wholesale Markets Review, on proposals to amend the U.K.'s Markets in Financial Instruments regime. This regime is based upon the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and related Regulation, as well as several pieces of delegated legislation thereunder, collectively and colloquially known as MiFID II, which the U.K. on-shored with minor amendments following its exit from the European Union.  HM Treasury is now seeking feedback on how the U.K.’s approach to regulating secondary markets should be adapted now that the U.K. has left the EU. The intention is to amend the regime to reflect that the U.K. market is one of the largest capital markets globally. Changes are also proposed where it is clear that the rules have had unintended outcomes, are duplicative or excessive or have curbed innovation. The consultation is open until September 24, 2021.

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HM Treasury has opened a consultation on policy proposals for geographic access requirements upon designated firms to protect access to cash across the U.K. The consultation follows the Access to Cash: Call for Evidence, published in October 2020, which sought views on the considerations on how to maintain a sustainable network of retail cash infrastructure in the U.K. and support the use of cash by people and businesses over time. Responses to the consultation may be submitted until September 23, 2021.

The main proposal is the introduction of geographic requirements based on cash access (e.g. ATM) facilities being available within maximum distances of a minimum percentage of the population. Geographic parameters are already used in cash provision - LINK's ATM scheme, for example, has committed to protecting free-to-use ATMs more than 1km away from the next nearest free-to-use source of cash and protecting free access to cash on high streets that do not have a free-to-use source of cash within 1 km. The Post Office Network is obliged to ensure that 99% of the total population must be within 3 miles of their nearest Post Office and 95% must be within 1 mile. HMT's proposals for designated firms would impose minimum requirements that ensure reasonable access to withdrawal and deposit facilities for individuals and reasonable access to deposit facilities for SMEs. The government does not intend to consider further factors, such as local needs, deprivation, vulnerability, and service levels, which will be for the industry to address. Flexibility would be built in to the legislative provisions to allow the government to adjust the requirements over time.

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HM Treasury has opened a Review of the U.K. Securitization Regulation with the issue of a call for evidence. The Review is required under the Regulation, and HM Treasury must report to Parliament on its findings by January 2022. Responses to the consultation may be submitted until September 2, 2021. HM Treasury also asks respondents to consider whether any changes are needed that are time-sensitive so that consideration can be given to whether a change is implemented through legislation or regulator rules. In the context of the Future Regulatory Framework Review, the responsibility for making and implementing rules will be transferred to the regulators. The FRF Review is ongoing, with a second consultation expected later this year.

The Securitization Regulation provides the criteria for identifying which securitizations will be designated as "simple, transparent and standardized" (STS) securitizations, a system to monitor the application of those criteria as well as common requirements on risk retention, due diligence and disclosure. Related provisions under the Capital Requirements Regulation set out the regulatory treatment of exposures to securitizations that are deemed to be STS securitizations.

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