The draft Securitisation (Amendment and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2026 (draft Regulations) have been laid before Parliament and published. The draft Regulations amend the Securitisation Regulations 2024 (Securitisation Regulations) and the Financial Services Act 2012 (Relevant Functions in relation to Complaints Scheme) Order 2014.

The draft Regulations, among other things, complete the second phase of post-Brexit securitisation reforms that were kicked off earlier in 2026 with the UK Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) consultation CP26/6 and the UK Prudential Regulation Authority's (PRA) consultation CP2/26 (final instruments amending the securitisation rulebooks of the PRA and the FCA are expected later in Q4 2026) and include legislative provisions that complete the FCA proposals to remove the regime for UK-registered securitisation repositories and also address the due diligence requirements for occupational pension scheme investors so that they become subject to the FCA due diligence rules. 

Subject to Parliamentary approval, most provisions will come into force on 1 January 2027. The remaining provisions (which include provisions relating to the removal of the UK securitisation repositories regime) will come into force on 25 May 2027.

For additional background, please see our briefing on phase 2 of the reforms to the UK securitisation framework.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published Handbook Notice No.145 outlining amendments to its Handbook made by the following statutory instruments:

• UK Listing Rules (Sustainability Reporting Standards Disclosure) Instrument 2026, which comes into force on 1 January 2027. This makes changes to replace the existing climate reporting rules for listed issuers with requirements aligned with the UK endorsed International Sustainability Standards Board standards.
• UK CRR References (Amendment) Instrument 2026, which comes into force on 1 January 2027. This makes consequential amendments to FCA Handbook and Glossary references to the UK Capital Requirements Regulation in anticipation of the revocation of the remaining provisions of that Regulation.
• Fund Reporting for Asset Management Entities Instrument 2026, which comes into force on 1 February 2027, except for the amendment to COLL 2.1.4D in relation to authorised fund applications to align the direction with the wording used in the relevant forms (in Annex B of the Instrument), which comes into force on 2 November. These changes form part of the FCA's wider move towards online submissions and support the new Fund Reporting for Asset Management Entities reporting framework (FRAME) being consulted on under CP26/26.

The Over the Counter Derivatives (Intragroup Transactions) Regulations 2026 have been laid before Parliament and published, alongside an explanatory memorandum. The Regulations, made on 21 October, aim to replace the temporary intragroup exemption regime, which expires on 31 December, with a permanent framework for intragroup exemptions from clearing and margin requirements under the UK European Market Infrastructure Regulation. The draft version of the Regulations was published in July. For more detail on the provisions, please see our blogpost titled “Draft Over the Counter Derivatives (Intragroup Transactions) Regulations 2026 published”. The Regulations will come into force when the revocation of the existing transitional provisions as set out in Part 5 of the Over the Counter Derivatives, Central Counterparties and Trade Repositories (Amendment, etc., and Transitional Provision) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 comes into force.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has announced it has updated its Q&As on: (i) market structure under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II; (ii) the Market Abuse Regulation; and (iii) the Short Selling Regulation. This is part of ESMA's Simplification and Burden Reduction initiative. ESMA has withdrawn or amended several Q&As that are outdated, duplicative or no longer relevant due to legislative changes reflected in established market practices or because they are covered in other ESMA guidance, such as supervisory briefings and opinions. The changes are intended to reduce unnecessary complexity and ensure that ESMA's Q&As remain relevant, proportionate and consistent with the current legislative framework. ESMA encourages stakeholders to consider the updated Q&As alongside its other guidance when interpreting the applicable rules.

The Council of the EU and the European Parliament (EP) have announced that they have reached provisional political agreement on the European Commission's securitisation package, which was first published in June 2025. The measures aim to revive and simplify the EU securitisation market. The Council of the EU explains that the updated framework will enable banks to free up more capital than is currently the case and channel increased lending to households, small and medium-sized enterprises, and infrastructure projects. It will also reduce administrative burdens for market participants. The securitisation package forms part of the EU's savings and investments union.

The agreed amendments to the original proposals include re-calibrating capital requirements on a risk-sensitive basis for banks investing in securitisations; introducing a new 'resilient' category of securitisations and strengthening the simple, transparent and standardised (STS) label; reducing administrative burdens and strengthening EU-level supervision, including for the independent entities that verify STS compliance; and supporting greater institutional investment and cross-border participation.

The relevant legal texts must now be finalised and formally endorsed by both the Council of the EU and the EP.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its final report on revised guidelines on standardised procedures and messaging protocols between investment firms and their professional clients under the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR). The revised guidelines follow the May consultation and update ESMA's 2019 guidelines to align them with the amended regulatory technical standards (RTS) on settlement discipline. Under the new regulatory environment, investment firms need to receive their professional clients' settlement details earlier than previously required. The amendments are designed to enhance settlement efficiency and support a smooth transition to T+1. The guidelines clarify the key elements necessary to achieve the new regulatory objective, including: (i) the compulsory use of electronic standardised communication methods; and (ii) the adoption of international open communication procedures and standards for messaging and reference data.

Only a subset of the original guidelines has been amended. The revised guidelines will be published on ESMA's website once they have been translated into all official EU languages. They will apply from 7 December, alongside the relevant provisions of the RTS on settlement discipline. They will also replace the 2019 guidelines from this date. Tracked and clean versions of the revised guidelines are available in Annexes III and IV of the final report.

Two Regulations supplementing the Central Securities Depositories Regulation No 909/2014 (CSDR) have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ). The Regulations make amendments to the CSDR framework to reflect reforms introduced by the CSDR Refit Regulation (EU) 2023/2845:

• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1519 amending the regulatory technical standards (RTS) laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/392 regarding the information that central securities depositories (CSDs) must provide to competent authorities as part of the review and evaluation process under Article 22(1) of the CSDR.
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1512 amending the implementing technical standards laid down in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/394 as regards standard forms, templates and procedures for the purposes of the information provided by CSDs for the review and evaluation process of central securities depositories.

Separately, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1536 was also published in the OJ on the same date. It amends the RTS laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1229 on settlement discipline to introduce measures aimed at improving settlement efficiency in the EU and supporting the transition from a T+2 to a T+1 settlement cycle on 11 October 2027.

All the Regulations will enter into force on 3 November, being the 20th day following publication in the OJ. The RTS on settlement discipline will generally apply from 7 December, except for certain specified provisions which will apply from 11 October 2027. The RTS on the review and evaluation process will apply from 3 November 2027.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published a final report containing draft amendments to the regulatory technical standards (RTS) under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/390, supplementing the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR) prudential framework. The changes respond to the CSDR Refit (Regulation (EU) 2023/2845), which now permits banking CSDs to provide banking-type ancillary services to participants of other CSDs, including foreign currency cash settlement. To address the potential credit, liquidity and concentration risks arising from the provision of these services, the EBA was mandated to revise the RTS. The amended RTS update the prudential framework for banking CSDs and designated credit institutions to ensure it adequately reflects and mitigates the additional complexity arising from such arrangements, including credit and concentration risk and collateral management considerations. In addition, the final draft RTS aligns references with amendments made to the Capital Requirements Regulation.

Following the December 2025 consultation, the EBA has made mainly clarificatory amendments. Section 4.2 of the report summarises the key points raised and the subsequent analysis, discussion and action taken (if deemed necessary). The draft RTS will be submitted to the European Commission for endorsement before being published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a statement on the transitional regime for third-country central securities depositories (CSDs). ESMA notes that, under the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (Regulation 909/2014), third-country CSDs may continue to provide certain notary services to issuers and central maintenance services to participants only until a recognition decision is taken or until 17 January 2027, whichever is earlier. ESMA highlights that the Market Integration and Supervision Package (MISP) proposes to extend this transitional period by a further three years following MISP’s entry into force, and that both the Council of the EU and the European Parliament appear broadly supportive of the extension.

In response to operational concerns raised by market participants, and in light of the emerging consensus among EU co-legislators, ESMA acknowledges that neither it nor national competent authorities (NCAs) can suspend or disapply directly applicable EU legislation, even in exceptional circumstances, and that any formal changes to the applicable regime would require EU legislation. Nonetheless, ESMA expects NCAs not to prioritise supervisory or enforcement action against non-recognised third-country CSDs pending the proposed extension under MISP taking effect.

The Council of the EU has published a note from the Presidency to the Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER) on the proposed Market Integration and Supervision Package (MISP), together with compromise texts (dated 2 October) of the three legislative proposals forming part of the package, specifically:

• the text of the proposed Regulation on settlement finality, which would repeal the Settlement Finality Directive (Directive 98/26/EC) and amend the Financial Collateral Directive (Directive 2002/47/EC)
• the text of the proposed Directive amending the Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities Directive (UCITS), Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) and Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) frameworks on the further development of capital market integration and supervision within the EU (MISP Directive)
• the text of the proposed Regulation amending a range of existing EU financial services legislation to support the further development of EU capital market integration and supervision within the EU (MISP Regulation).

The note states that the compromise texts largely preserve the original legislative proposals from the European Commission and are now presented for final agreement. There has, however, been some movement of note, particularly in relation to the Regulation of Settlement Finality, which has been amended so that the protections for third-country registered and EU systems are more closely aligned.

The note also explains that the texts intend to strengthen market integration, improve supervisory consistency, expand market transparency, and modernise trading infrastructure while balancing the differing priorities of member states. Further detail on the key elements of the proposals is set out in the Annex. The note also highlights that agreement is still needed on the European Securities and Markets Authority funding arrangements and the definition of significant trading venues before the overall package can be agreed.

An updated Council webpage states that the Economic and Financial Affairs Council is expected to agree its position on the legislative proposals at its meeting on 9 October.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published Primary Market Bulletin 66 (PMB 66) covering developments relevant to primary market participants. The bulletin finalises technical note (TN) 619.3, which contains guidelines on disclosure requirements under the Prospectus Rules: Admission to Trading on a Regulated Market (PRM) and guidance on specialist issuers. It also makes consequential amendments to TN 321.5 on working capital statements and risk factors, following consultation in PMB 63. The updated guidelines aim to provide flexibility so that a clean working capital statement may be given where directors judge that certain uncommitted facilities can be considered available for the entirety of the working capital period, with appropriate disclosure alongside the working capital statement in the prospectus.

In PMB 66, the FCA also consults on a new proposed TN 803.1, which will set out the FCA's expectations for issuers under the new sustainability disclosure requirements and replace the existing UK Listing Rules guidance in TN 801.4. The rest of TN 801.4 will remain in force. TN 803.1 will also replace TN 802.3 in full. The deadline for responses is 28 October, and the FCA intends to finalise the guidance before the new rules take effect in January 2027. The FCA also sets out a list of its expectations to help listed companies prepare for the new requirements. Further details of the final sustainability disclosure rules are covered separately here.

PMB 66 also sets out the FCA's observations on disclosing inside information relating to cyber incidents. These were drawn from discussions the FCA held with issuers and their advisers. The FCA's observations also address disclosures relating to the discovery of historical systems compromise, delaying disclosure, making subsequent disclosures, and sharing inside information with authorities. For more detail, you may wish to read our blog post titled "When a cyber incident becomes inside information – new observations from the UK FCA".

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published policy statement PS26/19, setting out its final rules to align listed issuers' sustainability and climate disclosures with UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS), the UK-endorsed version of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Standards. The final rules adopt a comply or explain approach across the UK SRS. The rules will replace the existing Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)-aligned disclosures. Following feedback from the January consultation, the FCA has simplified the regime in two ways by requiring:

• a comply or explain approach across all categories of disclosures, bringing UK SRS S2 (climate disclosures) into line with the approach it consulted on for UK SRS S1 (non-climate disclosures) and Scope 3 (emissions data)
• international commercial companies with a secondary listing and depositary receipt issuers to also report against UK SRS on a comply or explain basis, in place of the consultation proposal to signpost any reporting requirements and disclosures under their home jurisdiction.

To support companies to apply the comply or explain rules, the FCA is also consulting on technical note (TN) 803.1 and related updates to existing technical guidance under TN 801.4, and the proposed deletion of TN 802.3. The proposals are outlined in the FCA's Primary Market Bulletin (PMB) 66. We cover PMB 66 separately in the Securities section above. The deadline for comments is 28 October and the FCA aims to finalise the guidance before the rules come into force.

The new rules will apply to accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with first reporting due in 2028. Transitional reliefs will apply for one year for Scope 3 emissions disclosures and for two years for UK SRS S1 disclosures. The FCA also published some practical considerations in PMB 66 to support companies. The FCA also intends to organise a series of activities to help companies and investors understand the UK SRS and what is required under the rules.

The Financial Markets Standards Board (FMSB) has published an updated version of its standard for sharing of standard settlement instructions (SSIs), together with updated SSI templates. The standard aims to increase the adoption of electronic solutions that allow for standardisation and pre-authentication of settlement instructions, and facilitate straight-through processing, to improve the efficiency of SSI management by recipient counterparties and reduce settlement fails through incorrect SSIs. It sets out nine core principles relevant to the sharing of SSIs, covering: use of industry platforms; off-platform; timing; data fields; data format; data validation; validity; governance and responsibility; and periodic review. Where such electronic solutions are not legally or operationally feasible, the standard provides templates for the manual sharing of SSIs.

Updated FAQs published alongside the updated standard and templates acknowledge that it may not always be possible to comply with the standard in all circumstances and at all times in core principle 9 (periodic review). There is an explicit carve-out for automation for sharing of SSIs where it is not "legally or operationally feasible", and for clarity purposes, the FMSB has now introduced a similar carve-out in core principle 2 (off-platform) for non-use of the template. The FAQs provide the following examples of situations under core principle 2 to which this carve-out may apply:

• Markets which require a local broker and/or custodian to access, where use of the template is not accepted by those actors.
• Markets in which regulations around data transmission and/or storage may prohibit the use of the template.
• Markets in which a regulator, market infrastructure, custodian or local agent mandates a specific form, format, or submission channel that is fundamentally incompatible with the FMSB template.

The FAQs also state that any exemption should be based on a genuine and documented legal or operational constraint, rather than local preference and should be reviewed at least annually as per core principle 9. Additionally, the FAQs confirm that the standard and templates have been recognised by both the EU Industry Committee for T+1 and the UK Accelerated Settlement Taskforce as supporting more efficient settlement processes, particularly in light of the planned move to T+1 settlement in the UK and EU in 2027.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its 2027 work programme, setting out its priorities for strengthening, simplifying and integrating EU capital markets. It marks a decisive shift from analysis and groundwork to implementation and concrete delivery, building on the foundations laid in 2025 and 2026 and bringing key strategic cycles to completion. Key areas of work for 2027 include:

• Growing supervisory mandates: ESMA will advance its supervision of consolidated tape providers and external reviewers of European Green Bonds, and will process the applications and begin the supervision of environmental, social and governance (ESG) rating providers. ESMA will also adapt to its expanded responsibilities for benchmark administrators. It will carry out oversight of critical ICT third-party service providers and continue monitoring and promoting compliance with the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) across all of its supervisory mandates. ESMA will also review the impact of EMIR 3 reforms and continue cooperation with national competent authorities, including on the supervision of cryptoasset service providers under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR).
• Delivering more efficient financial markets: ESMA will prepare for changes to its mandates and responsibilities arising from the proposed Market Integration and Supervision Package (MISP), and support implementation of the European Single Access Point and the transition to T+1 settlement. It will also continue work on investor protection by supporting the implementation of the Retail Investment Strategy and promoting clear, accessible information for investors. ESMA has also stated that its simplification initiatives on transaction reporting, funds reporting, the retail investor journey and risk-based supervision will enter a new phase in 2027.
• Harnessing data and technological innovation: ESMA will further enhance its use of data and technology, including AI-based supervisory tools. It will also strengthen cybersecurity capabilities and continue its work on cryptoassets and the impact of AI on financial markets. Tokenisation will also remain a priority.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published Handbook Notice No. 144, outlining amendments to its Handbook made by various instruments including:

• Markets in Financial Instruments (Record Keeping, Transaction Reporting and Financial Instrument Reference Data) Instrument 2026, which comes into force on 3 April 2028. The instrument makes changes to the scope, content and operation of the transaction reporting regime. The changes aim to simplify firms' reporting obligations, reduce duplicative or low-value reporting and improve consistency in how key fields are populated.
• Changes to Information Flows for UK Equity IPOs Instrument 2026, which came into force on 5 August. This instrument updates the FCA's rules on information sharing during UK equity initial public offerings (IPOs) to reduce market risk and frictions in the UK IPO process for issuers and market participants.
• Collective Investment Schemes Sourcebook (Liquidity Management) Instrument 2026, which comes into force on 1 February 2027. Introduced following the consultation published in CP25/38, the instrument makes targeted improvements to the liquidity risk management framework for authorised fund managers (AFMs) of UK Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) schemes and non-UCITS retail schemes. The changes promote the effective use of antidilution tools, clarify good practice for AFMs' assessment of the liquidity of securities held in funds, and introduce new guidance on stress testing.
• Perimeter Guidance (Regulated Cryptoasset Activities) Instrument 2026. Part 1 of Annex B of this instrument came into force on 16 September, with the remainder coming into force on 25 October 2027. It sets out perimeter guidance for the UK's future cryptoasset regime, helping firms understand when authorisations for cryptoasset activities will be required.
• Collective Investment Schemes Sourcebook (Cryptoasset Exchange Traded Note) Instrument 2026, which came into force on 28 September. Introduced following the consultation published in chapter 5 of CP26/17, the instrument allows certain authorised funds to hold cryptoasset exchange traded notes, subject to a limit of 10% of scheme property for retail funds.
• Cryptoasset Activities (Periodic and Application Fees) Instrument 2026, which came into force on 30 September, with Part 2 of the annex coming into force on 25 October 2027. This instrument sets out the application fees and periodic fees that firms with cryptoasset regulated activities permissions will pay to fund the FCA and the UK Financial Ombudsman Service.
• Disclosure of Climate-Related Financial Information (Asset Manager and Asset Owner) (Amendment) Instrument 2026, which came into force on 25 September. This instrument simplifies the FCA's Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures product-level reporting requirements for asset managers, life insurers and FCA-regulated pension providers in the ESG sourcebook. It introduces more targeted climate disclosure rules that reduce complexity and burden for firms, while improving the clarity and usability of climate information for investors.
• Financial Promotion (Notification of Cryptoasset Approval) Instrument 2026, which came into force on 1 October. Introduced following the consultation published in chapter 6 of CP26/17, the instrument removes the requirement to submit notifications for most approvals of cryptoasset promotions, reducing the burden on both firms and the FCA.
• Decision Procedure and Penalties Manual (Cryptoassets) (Amendment) Instrument 2026. Part 1 of Annex B came into force on 30 September, with the remainder coming into force on 25 October 2027. Introduced following the consultation published in CP26/19, the instrument makes minor and consequential amendments to the Decision Procedure and Penalties Manual and the Glossary arising from the introduction of the market abuse regime for cryptoassets. The amendments apply the FCA's existing market abuse penalty framework to cryptoasset market abuse and identify the FCA decision-makers responsible for exercising powers under the transitional provisions of the Cryptoassets Regulations.
• Data Decommissioning (No 2) Instrument 2026, which came into force on 1 October. This instrument simplifies the scheduling rule for Section M of the Retail Mediation Activity Return and clarifies guidance notes for firms completing the FIN073 return.
• Pensions Projections Exemption Instrument 2026 and Conduct of Business (Interactive Pension Simulations) Instrument 2026, both of which came into force on 25 September.

Feedback for the various consultations behind the Handbook Notice is set out in chapter 3 of the notice.

The European Commission (EC) has published a draft Delegated Regulation for a four-week feedback period, proposing amendments to the regulatory technical standards (RTS) laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 regarding the conditions applicable to buy-back programmes and stabilisation measures. The amendments to the buy-back regime reflect changes introduced by the Listing Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/2809), which amended Article 5 of the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) to simplify reporting and disclosure obligations for buy-back transactions. The amendments to the stabilisation regime were added in response to requests from certain national competent authorities.

The key changes are as follows:

• Issuers will be required to report buy-back transactions in respect of shares in aggregated form only, to the competent authority of the most relevant market in terms of liquidity, rather than to the competent authority of each trading venue on which the shares are admitted to trading or traded.
• Public disclosure of buy-back transactions in respect of shares will similarly be required in aggregated form, indicating the aggregated volume and the weighted average price per day and per trading venue, by no later than the end of the seventh daily market session following the date of execution.
• Separately, public disclosure and reporting of stabilisation transactions will also be required in aggregated form, indicating the aggregated volume and the weighted average price per day and per trading venue, replacing the current requirement to disclose the details of each stabilisation transaction. Public disclosure is required by the same deadline – the end of the seventh daily market session following the date of execution. Reporting will be required only to the competent authority of the most relevant market in terms of liquidity for each of the securities and instruments concerned, which must, upon request, forward the information to the competent authority of each trading venue on which the securities and associated instruments are admitted to trading and traded.

The deadline for feedback is 19 October. The amending Delegated Regulation will enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England (BoE) have published a feedback statement on tokenisation in UK wholesale financial markets, summarising responses to their May joint call for input. Respondents were largely supportive of the authorities' vision and recognised that industry and regulators would need to work together to tokenise wholesale markets. The most frequently raised themes included:

• A desire for faster progress, with clear timelines and implementation milestones in the forthcoming tokenisation roadmap.
• A move beyond sandboxes and pilots towards full production, scale and permanence.
• Clarity on the prudential treatment of tokenised assets and the eligibility of tokenised assets as collateral (in both central bank operations and for central clearing at central counterparties), with tokenised Money Market Funds frequently mentioned by buy-side firms.
• Access to insolvency protections under the settlement finality regulations for blockchain-settled transactions, and the use of stablecoins as settlement assets.
• Prioritisation of regulatory work on interoperability, encompassing legal, regulatory and cross-jurisdictional dimensions.
• A preference for aligning custody rules for relevant specified investment cryptoassets (RSICs) broadly with CASS 6, with targeted overlays for blockchain-specific risks such as private key management.

The FCA and BoE have confirmed they will publish a tokenisation roadmap later in the year setting out detailed workstreams and target dates. Key commitments include progressing work on tokenised collateral, with a supervisory statement and discussion paper on central counterparties collateral due later this year, and consulting on rules for the safeguarding of RSICs in the first half of 2027.

Alongside the feedback statement, the FCA has issued a call for input on tokenised gold.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its quarterly consultation paper No. 53 inviting feedback on proposed amendments to its Handbook across financial promotion rules, banking conduct of business requirements, the new cryptoasset regime, complaints reporting, money market fund (MMF) reporting and the consumer composite investment (CCI) rules.

Key proposals include:

• Amending the financial promotion rules applicable to fractional shares, by amending the readily realisable security definition to include fractional shares that meet specified conditions.
• Removing an expired reference to the British Bankers' Association/Building Societies Association Code of Conduct for the Advertising of Interest Bearing Accounts in BCOBS 2.3.9G and replacing the reference in BCOBS 2 Annex 1, Note 1, to the latest Annual Equivalent Rate practice note published by UK Finance and the Building Societies Association.
• Making deferral arrangements for parts of the new cryptoasset regime (effective 25 October 2027), including relating to the admission process of qualifying cryptoassets on UK qualifying cryptoasset trading platforms, the execution venue requirements on UK-authorised dealers and arrangers, and the execution policy requirement for these firms.
• Correcting complaints data reporting rules by removing a duplicate data point on claims management fee cap redress in the Consumer Credit Return and clarifying the Handbook Glossary definition of "firm" for the purposes of DISP 1.10 and DISP 1.10A to ensure that payment services and e-money firms are within scope of these requirements.
• Removing the reference in DISP to the two-stage complaints process for the Society of Lloyd's.
• Updating MMF reporting requirements to ensure a proportionate approach that allows for effective monitoring of financial stability risks and is integrated into wider funds reporting requirements.
• Making minor amendments to the CCI rules in the DISC and COBS sourcebooks following feedback to PS25/20.

The deadline for comments is 12 October, and the proposed amendments are set out in draft instruments contained in the appendices to the consultation.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published Primary Market Bulletin 65 covering a range of developments relevant to listed issuers, sponsors and their advisers. The FCA warns of a growing trend of potentially misleading statements in regulatory announcements, noting that some issuers are releasing announcements containing language that is vague, exaggerated and flamboyant, or that resembles marketing material rather than regulated information. The FCA reminds issuers that regulatory announcements must comply with the requirements of the UK Market Abuse Regulation (UK MAR), the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, and the UK Listing Rules, including the requirement that issuers "shall not combine the disclosure of inside information to the public with the marketing of [their] activities".

The bulletin also sets out findings from the FCA's review of sponsor specialist due diligence for new admissions to the equity shares (commercial companies) (ESCC) category. The FCA notes an encouraging shift away from a uniform, "off the shelf" approach to expert reporting, with sponsors increasingly adopting more tailored and proportionate approaches, particularly in relation to long-form financial due diligence reports.

On delayed disclosure of inside information (DDII), the FCA reports that its review of DDII notifications under Article 17(4) of UK MAR did not identify widespread failings but did reveal some inconsistent practices, particularly the blanket classification of information as inside information. The FCA will continue to monitor DDII notifications and may provide further updates where appropriate.

The bulletin also outlines the FCA's emergency intervention powers under the Short Selling Regulations 2025, which came into force on 13 July. These powers include requiring notification of net short positions at lower thresholds, prohibiting or imposing conditions on short selling, and restricting short selling following a significant price fall. Finally, the bulletin refers to the new inside information declaration form, which must be included with all new equity case submissions through the Electronic Submission System portal from 21 September. This requirement was initially announced on 7 August.

The European Commission (EC) has published a call for advice (dated 30 July) to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) requesting technical advice to assist in developing level 2 measures implementing the retail investment strategy (RIS) package. The package takes the form of a directive containing targeted amendments to a number of EU directives in the area of financial services, including the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II), the Solvency II Directive, the Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) Directive and the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) (the Omnibus Directive), and a regulation amending the Packaged Retail And Insurance-Based Investment Products (PRIIPs) Regulation.

A provisional agreement was reached on the RIS package on 18 December 2025 and approved by the Council of the European Union on 5 June and by the European Parliament on 23 June. The adopted legislative texts are still subject to lawyer-linguists' review, but the EC does not expect any substantive changes. The completion of the lawyer linguists work is expected at the latest in September. Final votes by the Council and the Parliament are expected in Q4, which means the publication of the RIS package in the Official Journal of the EU should occur at the latest in January 2027.

Member States will have 24 months to transpose the Omnibus Directive from the date it enters into force. They will have to apply the provisions of the legal text as from July 2029, assuming that the Omnibus Directive is published in January 2027 and that a 30-month implementation period will apply following the date of entry into force. Level 2 measures will also need to be transposed into national laws and regulations by Member States.

The EC is seeking ESMA's technical advice on certain delegated acts to supplement or specify specific provisions of MiFID II, UCITS Directive and AIFMD. To simplify the adoption of the proposed Level 2 measures, ESMA is requested to group the mandates in two delegated acts, a delegated regulation and a delegated directive, for each of the sectoral legislative frameworks. ESMA must submit its advice to the EC by 1 October 2027.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has updated its "submit a prospectus or circular" webpage to include information on the inside information declaration form. For equity cases, the issuer must submit a declaration form with its first submission, stating whether its submission contains inside information. If it does, the issuer must explain what that information is. The FCA needs this information so it can apply the appropriate internal controls when reviewing a submission. From 21 September, all first submissions of equity documents, including guidance requests, must include this form. The FCA will not allocate the case for review until it receives a completed form. The inside declaration form can be found here.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published final policy statement PS26/16, on changes to its rules on information sharing during UK equity initial public offerings (IPOs). Following feedback to the April consultation, the FCA found that some of the 2018 reforms had not succeeded in encouraging the production of unconnected research and had instead created additional costs and administrative burdens for issuers, potentially placing the UK at a competitive disadvantage relative to other listing venues.

The FCA has finalised the proposals as consulted on, including amending its Conduct of Business sourcebook (COBs) to: (i) remove the mandatory seven day waiting period between the publication of an approved registration document or prospectus and connected research; and (ii) repeal the related requirements mandating that syndicate banks intending to publish connected IPO research share the same information with a range of unconnected analysts, as they do with their own research analysts. The changes take effect immediately, while noting that firms and issuers remain free to engage with unconnected analysts on a voluntary and commercial basis.

The FCA also implements a technical correction to COBS 12.2.21R to address an inconsistency resulting from earlier changes made to the FCA rules when the UK MiFID Organisational Regulation (on shored Regulation 2017/565) was revoked and its requirements transferred into FCA rules.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published Handbook Notice 143, outlining amendments to its Handbook made through various instruments made at its June and July board meetings including:

• Numerous instruments relating to the UK's upcoming regulatory framework for cryptoassets which come into force on 25 October 2027 and, amongst other things, insert three new sourcebooks into the Handbook, two new chapters in the client assets sourcebook and new sections in the conduct of business sourcebook and supervision manual.
• Definition of Capital for Investment Firms Instrument 2026, which entered into force on 31 July. This instrument makes a minor technical amendment to MIFIDPRU 3.6A.1R to correct an unintended consequence following PS25/14, ensuring that the prohibition on non-cash distributions on own funds instruments operates as originally intended.
• Enforcement (Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024) (Supplementary Amendments) Instrument 2026, which entered into force on 30 July and Enforcement Guide (Amendment) Instrument 2026, which entered into force on 31 July. Following consultation in chapter 9 of CP26/8, these instruments make supplementary amendments to the Glossary, ICOBS, CONC, UNFCOG, ENFG and DEPP sourcebooks to reflect changes in consumer protection legislation, describe the FCA's general approach to the use of its powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, and make clarificatory changes to its description of the use of non-FSMA and FSMA powers in the context of market abuse.
• Prospectus Rules: Admission to Trading on a Regulated Market (Clarificatory Amendments) Instrument 2026. This gives proper effect to aspects of the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading regime, which came into force on 19 January.
• Data Reporting Services (Amendment) Instrument 2026 and Technical Standards (Data Reporting Services) Instrument 2026. Following consultation in CP25/31, these instruments amend the Glossary, MAR 9, DEPP and ENFG sourcebooks, and make changes to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/577, to establish the main regulatory obligations of the equity consolidated tape provider (CTP) and key regulatory requirements for the operation of the UK equity consolidated tape. It also establishes obligations for trading venues and approved publication arrangements to provide information to the CTP.

Feedback to the various consultations behind this Handbook Notice is set out in chapter 3 of the notice.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a statement highlighting key deadlines and action points for firms to take when preparing for the transition to a T+1 settlement cycle, which takes effect on 11 October 2027. ESMA states that while readiness surveys conducted by the EU T+1 Industry Committee show an overall good and increasing level of awareness and commitment to the transition, implementation levels remain uneven across EU financial markets, sectors and firms.

While the rules have been known since mid-October last year, ESMA proposed amendments to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1229 to set new requirements, which are particularly relevant for the transition to T+1. ESMA states that firms should consider these in combination with the recommendations of the EU T+1 Industry Committee and accelerate the technical work needed to prepare for the transition to T+1 settlement. The statement also highlights the following key compliance deadlines:

• First deadline: 7 December—for the requirements to improve the first post-trade step, the exchange of allocations and confirmations, in terms of timing and through the default use of international communication standards.
• Final deadline: 11 October 2027—for the requirements to optimise the settlement layer, including sending instructions early enough to securities settlement systems, and the generalisation of certain functionalities in central securities depositories (CSDs), such as auto-partial settlement, hold and release, and auto-collateralisation.

ESMA and the national competent authorities are in the last stages of reviewing the Level 3 guidelines on allocations and confirmations. ESMA considers that the guidelines and the Committee's recommendations will give firms a clear basis for finalising their implementation of electronic, standardised and timely allocation and confirmation processes.

ESMA states that different implementation strategies are possible and firms should undertake thorough analysis and planning, prioritise automation and standardisation, consider new partnerships where relevant, and ensure timely data quality (including correct reference data and standard settlement instructions).

ESMA also reiterates that no-one can be ready in isolation. Firms should assess the readiness of their entire ecosystem, up and down the trading and settlement chain—clients, brokers, custodians, CSD participants, CSDs, central counterparties, trading venues, vendors and outsourcing providers—to enable early testing, identify defects and reduce disruption risk at go-live on 11 October 2027. The regulator warns that insufficient preparedness could trigger significant operational and reputational risks, including flawed interdependencies with financial market infrastructures and IT providers, inability to meet client demands, and higher IT and training costs from last-minute remediation.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a follow-up report to its 2022 peer review on the supervision of cross-border activities of investment firms. The original peer review identified shortcomings in the authorisation, supervision and enforcement of these activities across six national competent authorities (NCAs). In response, ESMA issued recommendations to strengthen the cross-border supervisory framework through risk-based, proportionate and effective supervision aligned with the scale, nature and complexity of cross-border activities. This follow-up report assesses the progress made by the NCAs in these jurisdictions in implementing the recommendations.

Overall, the follow-up report shows that the peer review has successfully driven improvements within the EU Single Market. Specifically, the report highlights notable progress in three key areas: (i) stronger authorisation controls, where NCAs have enhanced assessments of firms' cross-border plans; (ii) data-driven and risk-based supervision, where NCAs are increasingly using data to monitor cross-border activities, tailoring supervisory action based on identified risks; and (iii) enhanced cooperation and enforcement, where NCAs have undertaken more targeted supervisory actions, reported enforcement cases where relevant and strengthened cooperation.

While the report acknowledges progress, some risks remain and it encourages NCAs with significant outbound cross-border activities to ensure that their supervisory and enforcement approaches match the scale and complexity of these activities and keep pace with evolving risks. ESMA encourages all NCAs, and in particular those where outgoing cross-border activities are significantly growing, to reflect on the report's conclusions.

The European Commission has published two Delegated Regulations under the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR), in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ), to reflect amendments introduced by the Listing Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/2809).

• Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/788 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/522 to: (i) reflect the broader scope of the exemptions from the prohibition for persons discharging managerial responsibilities to trade during closed periods set out in Article 19(12) of the MAR; (ii) establish a list of designated trading venues that have significant cross-border dimensions for the purpose of implementing the mechanism to exchange order data referred to in Article 25a of the MAR with respect to shares; and (iii) update Annex II on the practices specifying the indicators of market manipulation, to account for technical developments such as algorithmic trading, and to correct a few erroneous cross-references. The Amending Regulation will enter into force on 5 August, being the 20th day following publication in the OJ.
• Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/789 setting out the requirements on the disclosure of inside information in protracted processes, including the conditions and arrangements for the delay of disclosure. Under Article 17(1) of MAR, issuers must disclose inside information as soon as possible, although Article 17(4) permits delayed disclosure in certain circumstances. The Listing Act amended this regime by excluding intermediate steps in protracted processes from disclosure, provided confidentiality is maintained, and by clarifying when disclosure may be delayed. The Delegated Regulation sets out non exhaustive lists of: (i) final events or circumstances that trigger disclosure along with the timing of such disclosure; and (ii) situations where there is a contrast between inside information whose disclosure is intended to be delayed, and the most recent public announcement or communication by the issuer or emission allowance market participant on the same subject. The Regulation will enter into force on 19 July, being the third day following publication in the OJ.

HM Treasury has published the Dematerialisation Market Action Taskforce's (DEMAT) implementation plan and updated terms of reference to modernise the UK shareholding framework by removing paper share certificates and replacing them with digital share registers. The plan sets out a roadmap of legislative, operational and market changes for the government to take and what industry should do alongside this to make this work in practice. It confirms that shareholders do not need to do anything in preparation for the new system and that their rights will be unaffected.

Alongside the plan, the government published its response, accepting DEMAT's recommendations and confirming it will legislate to move towards this new model before the end of 2027. The specific date will be confirmed in due course, giving stakeholders sufficient time to prepare. DEMAT is expected to publish a further report next year addressing the next phases of the programme.

The draft Over the Counter Derivatives (Intragroup Transactions) Regulations 2026 were laid before the UK Parliament and published, accompanied by an explanatory memorandum. The proposed Regulations aim to replace the temporary intragroup exemption regime (TIGER), which expires on 31 December, with a permanent framework for intragroup exemptions from clearing and margin requirements under the UK European Market Infrastructure Regulation (UK EMIR). The draft Regulations amend the definition of an intragroup transaction in Article 3 of UK EMIR so that any transaction between entities within the same consolidated group qualifies as intragroup, regardless of the jurisdiction in which those entities are established. They also amend the processes applicable to the intragroup exemptions in Article 4 and Article 11 of UK EMIR and provide for a notification process for transactions between a UK entity and an overseas entity in the same group or between two overseas entities in the same group, subject to a 30-day period within which the FCA can object. Finally, the Regulations also include transitional provisions to ensure that firms already benefiting from intragroup exemptions granted under TIGER can continue to rely on those exemptions after TIGER expires without having to submit a new notification to the FCA, provided certain conditions are met.

The draft Regulations were initially published for technical feedback in November 2025. While feedback was generally positive, some respondents requested that the notification requirement to the FCA be removed entirely to lighten the regulatory burden even further. The FCA has not made this change to ensure that it maintains appropriate regulatory oversight of market activity. Feedback was otherwise focused on drafting points to ensure the legislation would operate as intended and deliver the desired policy effect. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the new regime is expected to come into force before the expiry of TIGER on 31 December.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published Primary Market Bulletin 64, setting out its findings from a 2025 follow-up review of total voting rights (TVR) disclosures and providing observations on significant transaction notifications under the UK Listing Rules (UKLR). The FCA found that, while most issuers disclosed information relevant to TVRs, some announcements lacked sufficient clarity because they neither contained a dedicated TVR subsection nor made any direct mention of the total number of voting rights. This made it difficult for shareholders to identify the TVR used to calculate shareholding thresholds.

The FCA reminds issuers to confirm TVR figures clearly, use appropriate headline disclosure classifications where possible, and refer expressly to "total voting rights" when such information is included within broader announcements.

The FCA also reported on its review of significant transaction notifications under the UKLR, following the July 2024 reforms that removed the requirement for commercial companies with equity shares to publish an FCA-approved circular and obtain shareholder approval for significant transactions. Instead, companies are now required to notify shareholders under a notification-based regime. The FCA observed differing approaches to the number and presentation of risks disclosed by companies and noted that some issuers relied on overly generic risk disclosures. The FCA reminds issuers that risk disclosures should be tailored to the company, taking into account the nature and circumstances of the transaction, and should clearly articulate the specific risks posed to the company rather than relying on generic descriptions.

On board statements, the FCA noted that some issuers had not used the prescribed wording required by the UKLR. The FCA emphasises that issuers must follow the prescribed text and that bespoke wording that dilutes the intent of the rule is not acceptable. Board statements should therefore include the wording: "the transaction is, in the board's opinion, in the best interests of security holders as a whole". The requirement to use prescribed wording also applies to the fair and reasonable statement in related party transaction notifications under UKLR 8.2.2R(4).

The European Commission has adopted two Delegated Regulations under the Central Securities Depositories Regulation No 909/2014 (CSDR):

• The first Delegated Regulation amends the regulatory technical standards (RTS) laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1229 on settlement discipline, to introduce measures aimed at improving settlement efficiency in the EU and supporting the transition from a T+2 to a T+1 settlement cycle on 11 October 2027. The revised RTS strengthen allocation, confirmation and settlement processes, establish earlier deadlines for the provision of settlement information by professional and retail clients, and enhance the monitoring, reporting and analysis of settlement fails. The Delegated Regulation is based on the final report published by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in October 2025.
• The second Delegated Regulation amends the RTS laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/392 regarding the information that central securities depositories (CSDs) must provide to competent authorities as part of the review and evaluation process under Article 22(1) of the CSDR. The amendments align the RTS with the reforms introduced by the CSDR Refit Regulation (EU) 2023/2845. The Delegated Regulation specifies: (i) the information the CSD is to provide to the competent authority for the purposes of the review and evaluation; (ii) the information that the CSD's competent authority is to supply to other authorities when sharing the results of the review and evaluation; and (iii) the information that the competent authorities responsible for supervising different CSDs within the same group are to supply to one another when performing the review and evaluation. The Delegated Regulation is based on the final report published by ESMA in February 2025.

The RTS on settlement discipline will generally apply from 7 December, except for certain specified provisions which will apply in 2027. The RTS on the review and evaluation process will apply one year after it enters into force.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its final report on the simplification of financial transaction reporting under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR), the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) and the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR), together with a factsheet. This follows the interim report published in May which provided a summary of feedback to its June 2025 call for evidence on how to simplify and streamline reporting. 

ESMA recommends a phased reform programme combining short-term burden reduction with a long-term structural reform. At the centre of this strategy is the development of a long-term “report once” model, under which firms would submit data through a single, modular reporting framework capable of serving multiple regulatory and supervisory purposes. This aligns with the “scenario 2a” approach (which evolved from “option 2a” in ESMA’s June 2025 call for evidence). On dual-sided reporting, the final report confirms that a full transition to single-sided reporting was not retained because those data points which are currently reported are used to assess data quality.   

In the shorter term, ESMA proposes a series of simplification measures to provide more immediate burden reduction including streamlining intragroup exemptions, reducing or removing certain reporting fields and reconciliation requirements, simplifying error and omission notifications, and reviewing dual-sided reporting requirements, among other measures mentioned in section 5.2 of the report. ESMA will now engage with EU institutions on the policy recommendations, with implementation requiring legislative amendments and phased development of common reporting standards and infrastructure.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published consultation paper CP26/21 proposing targeted amendments to the UK Listing Rules (UKLR) for closed-ended investment funds (investment trusts). The consultation follows the FCA's targeted review of how the UKLRs applied to investment entities, which was announced in March as part of the FCA's ongoing work on the UKLR. During the review, the FCA considered how its rules support strong shareholder rights and effective management of conflicts of interest in a range of potential scenarios. The FCA carried out stress testing the rules' operation in different hypothetical situations to ensure they remain robust over time and as markets evolve.

The FCA proposes to:

• Strengthen board independence by introducing a rule to clarify governance requirements when appointing a new investment manager, including requiring directors who are not independent of the proposed investment manager to be excluded from the board's consideration of the transaction or arrangement for the appointment.
• Amend the FCA Handbook Glossary definition of "associate" for its application in the UKLR requirements applicable to closed-ended investment funds under UKLR 11 only, so that it: (i) applies to a proposed investment manager; and (ii) includes the association between a director and any substantial shareholder (or associate of that shareholder) that has proposed the director for their appointment.

Read more.

The European Parliament has announced that it has reached a provisional agreement with the Council of the EU on a package of measures to simplify regulatory requirements for a new category of undertakings named small "mid-cap" companies (SMCs). The undertakings fall between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large companies, and the measures form part of the European Commission's Omnibus IV legislative proposal, adopted in May 2025. The agreement is intended to support scaling businesses and avoid "cliff-edge" increases in regulatory obligations when firms outgrow SME status, by extending to SMCs a range of exemptions and lighter requirements currently available to SMEs.

The press release states that SMCs are broadly defined in principle as companies with fewer than 1,000 employees and either up to EUR200 million in turnover or EUR172m in total assets. The simplified regime will apply across several EU frameworks, including the General Data Protection Regulation, where lighter record-keeping obligations will apply for low-risk processing data and capital markets rules (including the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II and the Prospectus Regulation), enabling easier access to SME growth markets and simplified disclosure requirements. Additional simplifications are introduced in other areas. The measures remain subject to formal adoption by both institutions before publication in the Official Journal of the European Union and entry into force. Member states will have 15 months to introduce the Directive into their national legislation.

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (FSMA 2023) (Commencement No. 14) Regulations 2026 have been made and published. The Regulations use powers under FSMA 2023 to revoke assimilated law relating to short selling in anticipation of the new UK regime coming into force on 13 July under the Short Selling Regulations 2025 and the FCA rules published in April.

The Regulations will revoke on 13 July:

• Regulation (EU) No 236/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2012 on short selling and certain aspects of credit default swaps ("the Short Selling Regulation").
• The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Short Selling) Regulations 2012.
• Instruments made under the Short Selling Regulation, as assimilated into UK law.
• The Short Selling (Notification Thresholds) Regulations 2021.
• The Short Selling (Notification Threshold) Regulations 2023.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its annual report on the quality and use of data in 2025. This sixth edition expands the scope of coverage to include prospectus reporting, credit rating agency reporting, central counterparty supervisory reporting, crowdfunding reporting, major ICT-related incident reporting under the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), reference data under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) and ESMA registers.

The report shows continued progress in improving the quality, usability and supervisory application of regulatory data across EU financial markets. However, the report also highlights differing levels of maturity across datasets. Reporting under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) reached a steady state, with stable reporting rules and reconciliation requirements during 2025. MiFIR transaction reporting showed similar progress, with targeted data quality measures supporting more systematic supervisory use. As a result, transparency indicators are now calculated using MiFIR transaction data. Other regimes, notably the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR) and the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) also showed positive developments but require further improvements in data quality and usability. For less mature datasets, the report presents first indicative measures of quality and use.

Looking ahead, ESMA, together with national competent authorities, will continue to further support sustained improvements in the quality of regulatory data with next steps set out in Chapter 5 of the report.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a consultation paper on amendments to its guidelines on standardised procedures and messaging protocols used between investment firms and their professional clients under Article 6(2) of the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR). This forms part of ESMA's work to support market participants in preparing for the transition to a T+1 settlement cycle. ESMA is proposing to amend the guidelines in light of the proposed amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1229 (RTS on Settlement Discipline), as set out in its final report on the RTS on Settlement Discipline published in October 2025. The updates aim to make post-trade communication faster, clearer and more consistent across the EU. In addition, ESMA is proposing to clarify the discretion available to investment firms and professional clients when documenting their contractual arrangements and is seeking stakeholders' views on potential amendments to the existing guidelines that could support its objective of simplification and reducing regulatory burden.

Key changes to the guidelines include:

• Reflecting the mandatory use of electronic, standardised communication channels and international messaging standards.
• Removing references to non-electronic and non-machine-readable communication methods, such as oral allocations and confirmations, except in cases of temporary technical disruptions.

Read more.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has published a consultation report on regulatory considerations and good practices on the evolution of market liquidity during the trading day for equity markets. The consultation highlights a growing concentration of trading activity at market close, driven by technological developments and trading strategies, noting that while deeper closing auctions may enhance price discovery, they may also pose risks. IOSCO therefore proposes a set of good practices aimed at supporting fair, orderly and resilient markets. This is based on the analysis of how liquidity is distributed throughout the trading day, the implications of evolving liquidity patterns and auction designs, and the effectiveness of existing regulatory and supervisory approaches. The deadline for feedback is 21 August.

In parallel, IOSCO has published a report on extended trading hours for equity markets. This report looks at how extended trading works across IOSCO jurisdictions and its benefits and risks. It finds that trading outside normal hours varies between jurisdictions and is mainly retail-driven, with limited institutional involvement. Where it exists, it is usually introduced by trading venues in response to demand. However, this is characterised by lower liquidity, wider bid-ask spreads, and different execution conditions compared to regular hours. Based on the findings, IOSCO emphasises the importance of continued monitoring and information-sharing to ensure that market integrity, operational resilience and investor protection remain central as trading practices evolve. While the report focuses on equity markets, IOSCO may explore related areas (such as asset management, valuations, risk management or derivatives) in the future.

The UK Securitisation (Overseas STS Equivalence) (European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) Regulations 2026 have been laid before Parliament. The Regulations introduce a permanent equivalence regime for European securitisations designated under the EU Securitisation Regulation as "simple, transparent and standardised" (STS). The effect of UK equivalence is that such securitisations benefit from preferential treatment under various UK regimes, including in relation to regulatory capital requirements. It is worth noting that there is no reciprocal recognition of UK STS securitisations.

The permanent equivalence regime will replace the existing temporary recognition regime which is due to expire on 30 June. Accordingly, the Regulations will come into force at 11:00pm on 30 June.

For those tracking this development, you may be interested to read our article on this: EU STS recognition in the UK moves from temporary to permanent.
 

The UK Financial Services Regulatory Initiatives Forum has published the tenth edition of the Regulatory Initiatives Grid, setting out the ongoing and upcoming initiatives impacting the UK financial services sector. The Grid provides an overview of the current state of play as opposed to launching new initiatives, and is also used to communicate timing updates on deliverables where relevant. The grid includes a multi-sector section which covers cross-cutting and omnibus topics such as sustainable finance and operational and financial resilience. There are further sector specific sections including in relation to: banking, credit and lending; payment services and cryptoassets; investment management; retail investment; and wholesale financial markets.

The grid includes a number of UK developments in relation to other items in this week's update, including those mentioned in the King's speech, and the prospective changes in the Financial Services and Markets Bill. Further information is detailed in those specific items covered this week. Separate press releases announcing the Grid have also been published by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England.

Readers are also invited to provide feedback on the Grid and its usefulness in enabling planning for regulatory initiatives and any suggested improvements.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published findings from a multi firm review of credit rating agencies. The review focused on surveillance processes, credit rating methodologies and internal controls.
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On surveillance and credit rating methodologies, the FCA made findings in relation to governance, capabilities, and how the process works. While the FCA drew attention to a number of areas where good practice was well-evidenced, it highlighted areas with room for improvement, including:

• On surveillance, clearer, better-interpreted and cohesive monitoring frameworks and practices (including on an ongoing basis rather than just in terms of the minimum requirement of an annual review), better evidence of analytical capability expectations and capacity management, and more fulsome documentation of first line controls, decision-making and oversight.
• On credit rating methodologies, effective annual reviews of key components of methodologies and model types, better governance of adjustments within methodologies and models, clarification of roles and responsibilities (including for independent non-executive directors), and better documentation, feedback and oversight in relation to methodologies and models.

Read more.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has published a report on vulnerabilities in private credit. The FSB notes that, while private credit brings benefits such as tailored finance for companies and investor diversification, it also embeds several vulnerabilities. The report focuses on the potential vulnerabilities around bank interlinkages; borrower credit risk and opacity in valuation practices; concentration, leverage and liquidity issues; and data challenges faced by regulators when monitoring exposures. The FSB also highlights that private credit remains untested in a prolonged economic downturn and so warrants close attention.

Looking ahead, the FSB encourages regulatory authorities to: (i) address data challenges, including those related to the lack of granular fund and loan-level data and the absence of harmonised global definitions; (ii) deepen analysis of interlinkages of private credit with private equity and insurers and of liquidity mismatches in private credit funds; and (iii) share supervisory approaches on risk management and governance for banks and non-banks active in private credit, including aggregation of exposures, valuation practices and the use of private ratings.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published official translations of its final guidelines on internal controls for benchmark administrators (BMAs), credit rating agencies (CRAs) and market transparency infrastructures (MTIs), which include trade repositories, data reporting services providers and securitisation repositories. They repeal and replace ESMA's previous CRA-specific internal control guidance, extend coverage to BMAs and MTIs, and update expectations to address technology-related risks and integration of new technologies. The final report was initially published by ESMA in December 2025. The guidelines will apply from 1 October.

The European Parliament's (EP) Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) has published a draft report (dated 28 April) on the European Commission's proposal for a Regulation amending the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 (SFDR), Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 on key information documents for packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (PRIIPs) and repealing Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288. The proposal, known as SFDR 2.0, was adopted in November 2025. The report contains a draft EP legislative resolution which sets out amendments to the proposed Regulation. For more background on SFDR 2.0, particularly its impact on funds and asset managers, you may wish to read our article "SFDR 2.0 overhaul: impact of the new categories and disclosures on funds and asset managers".

ESMA has published an interim report on transaction reporting on the call for evidence on a comprehensive approach for the simplification of financial transaction reporting under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (600/2014) (MiFIR), the European Market Infrastructure Regulation ((EU) No 648/2012) (EMIR), the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation ((EU) 2015/2365) (SFTR) and sectoral regulation. The report was published as part of ESMA's broader simplification and burden reduction agenda for EU reporting frameworks. The interim report provides a summary of the feedback to its June 2025 call for evidence.

Most respondents indicated that overlapping and inconsistent reporting requirements, frequent and unsynchronised regulatory changes, fragmented reporting channels and dual reporting are major drivers of cost and complexity. Further to the feedback it received, ESMA has updated the four guiding principles presented in the call for evidence. They now focus on preserving information value, decreasing overlaps, pursuing global alignment and balancing costs and benefits. The feedback has also enabled ESMA to carry out more detailed analysis on two of its proposed simplification options, namely scenario 1a (delineation by type of instrument) and scenario 2a (report once model).

The report does not yet include policy recommendations. Next steps for ESMA include further engagement with market participants, including through an open hearing on 28 May, before publishing final recommendations expected by July.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published consultation paper CP26/14, setting out proposals to amend its rules on information sharing during UK equity initial public offerings (IPOs). The FCA proposes to amend its conduct of business sourcebook (COBS) to: (i) remove the mandatory seven‑day waiting period between the publication of an approved registration document or prospectus and connected research, and; (ii) repeal the related requirements mandating that syndicate banks intending to publish connected IPO research share the same information with a range of unconnected analysts, as they do with their own research analysts. The FCA considers that the current regime, introduced in 2018 to encourage the production of unconnected research and mitigate conflicts of interest, has not achieved its intended effects and has instead lengthened IPO timelines, increased costs and exposed issuers to additional market risk.

The consultation also proposes a technical correction to COBS 12.2.21R. The correction addresses an inconsistency resulting from earlier changes made to the FCA rules when the UK MiFID Organisational Regulation (on-shored Regulation 2017/565) was revoked and its requirements transferred into FCA rules.

Finally, the FCA is seeking feedback on further potential reform, and the consultation paper includes discussion questions on alternative approaches to the timing of publishing an approved prospectus or registration document in conjunction with connected research, and restrictions on pre-mandate analyst/issuer communications.

The deadline for responses is 29 May.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published Handbook Notice No. 140, outlining amendments to the FCA Handbook resulting from the following statutory instruments:

• Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) (Management Expenses Levy Limit 2026/2027) Instrument 2026, entering into force on 1 April. This amends the FEES manual to reflect the approved levy cap for 2026/27.
• Short Selling Rules Sourcebook Instrument 2026, entering into force on 13 July. This introduces a new short selling sourcebook, which replaces the assimilated EU short selling regime and establishes a new UK framework.
• Individual Accountability (SMCR Review) Instrument 2026, with most changes having entered into force on 24 April while certain provisions come into force later in July and September. This implements the Phase 1 reforms of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, aimed at improving proportionality and efficiency.

Read more.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published findings from its multi‑firm review examining the impact of market soundings on market quality in UK equity capital market (ECM) transactions. The review analysed data from 63 UK equity and equity linked transactions conducted by five wholesale banks between January 2023 and June 2025. The FCA found that trading volumes fell by an average of 13% during market sounding periods but did not observe material impacts on other market quality metrics, including effective and quoted spreads and market depth. On average, 33 investors were market sounded per transaction, with one instance approaching nearly 90 recipients; however, transactions that sounded above average numbers of recipients did not meaningfully increase overall demand or oversubscription after launch.

While the FCA does not prescribe limits on the number of market sounding recipients, it notes that the risk of inside information leakage may increase as the scale or duration of a market sounding grows and suggests firms consider whether their policies and procedures adequately reflect this. The FCA will continue to engage with banks and other market participants through supervisory work. In addition, the FCA sought feedback on Article 11 of the UK Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) with some banks suggesting improvements, including closer alignment with the EU market soundings regime and reduced record keeping requirements. The FCA will consider this feedback when assessing any future changes to UK MAR.

The Bank of England (BoE) has published a consultation paper setting out its proposed fees regime for the supervision of financial market infrastructures (FMIs) for 2026/27.

Key proposals include a 3.2% reduction in UK central counterparties (CCPs) fees (excluding rulebook costs) and a 7.7% increase in UK central securities depositories (CSDs) fees to reflect work on repealing and replacing UK CSDR. The BoE intends to work with the UK Financial Conduct Authority and HM Treasury (HMT) to publish a full roadmap later this year on the repeal and replacement of UK CSDR, including a permanent regime for digital securities settlement.

In addition, the BoE proposes to maintain the UK CCP rulebook development costs, keeping the 2026/27 recovery instalment at GBP1.5 million, with any excess costs to be recovered in 2027/28. Fees for non‑UK CCPs and CSDs would be broadly unchanged, with small reductions for certain categories.

Read more.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) have published a joint report setting out their findings of their level 2 assessment of the UK's implementation of the principles for financial market infrastructures (PFMI). These principles set expectations for the design and operation of key FMIs in order to enhance their safety and efficiency and, more broadly, limit systemic risk and foster transparency and financial stability. The report sets out the conclusions and recommendations of whether, and to what degree, the UK legal, regulatory and oversight frameworks applied to systemically important payment systems (PSs), central securities depositories (CSDs) and securities settlement systems (SSSs), as of 30 September 2023.

The report finds that the UK legal, regulatory and oversight frameworks for PSs are complete and consistent with all principles under the PFMI, while the UK legal, regulatory and oversight frameworks for CSDs and SSSs are complete and consistent in most aspects, with some areas for improvement where implementation was broadly or partly consistent or not consistent. For UK CSDs and SSSs that provide banking-type ancillary services, the framework was consistent with 15 principles, broadly consistent with five principles (that is, principles 9, 11, 15, 16 and 23) and not consistent with principle 10. For other UK CSDs and SSSs, additional gaps relating to principles 4 and 7 were found, where implementation was partly consistent.

Read more.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched a call for evidence on the purposes, market practices, needs and risks associated with restricted subscription and private credit ratings. In particular, ESMA seeks views on:

• The characteristics and use cases of restricted subscription and private credit ratings, including their benefits compared with publicly disclosed ratings.
• The characteristics of the parties who are contracting for restricted subscription and private credit ratings and those to whom they are disclosed or distributed.
• Evidence on whether, and to what extent, the analytical processes, governance arrangements, and internal controls applied to restricted subscription and private credit ratings are comparable to those applied to public credit ratings.

ESMA requests evidence-based responses, including quantitative information where available, as well as concrete examples drawn from market practice. The deadline for comments is 31 May. Responses will be reviewed in Q2 with a view to assessing whether specific regulatory adjustments or clarifications may be needed to enhance clarity on the application of the Credit Rating Agencies Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009.