On 16 January 2020, the PRA and FCA co-published a consultation paper setting out proposals for the management expenses levy limit (MELL) for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) for 2020/21. The proposed MELL is £83.2 million for 2020/21, consisting of a management expenses budget of £78.2 million and an unlevied contingency reserve of £5 million. The proposed MELL would apply from 1 April 2020, the start of the FSCS’s financial year, to 31 March…

The recordings from our global asset management regulation webinar series are now available to watch on demand. In this series, our financial services team explored the key issues and requirements firms should be considering when looking to launch an overseas fund in Europe, Asia Pacific, the United States and Canada. Watch now: The AIFMD re-examined European Member State domestic regimes An update on developments in Asia Pacific Regulatory issues regarding fund formation in the United …

On 10 January 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a list of questions currently under development through its Q&A process. The publication of the list comes in the context of the entry into force of the revised ESMA Regulation including its new provisions applicable to Q&As (new Article 16b), which require ESMA to set up a web-based tool to facilitate the submission of questions and the publication of questions received as well…

On 9 January 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published its strategic orientation 2020-22. The strategic orientation sets out ESMA’s longer-term focus and objectives and is translated into concrete actions through the annual programming document and work programme. ESMA developed its first strategic orientation (for the period 2016-2020) in 2015 and regularly assessed the progress made towards executing it. With the 2016–2020 period coming to an end ESMA is now developing its…

On 7 January 2020, the Bank of England (BoE) published a Discussion Paper, Transforming data collection from the UK financial sector, to improve the timeliness and effectiveness of data collection from firms across the financial system. On the same date the FCA refreshed its Data Strategy setting out a transformation plan to become a highly data-driven regulator. The BoE has published its Discussion Paper in order to start a dialogue with regulated firms and…

On 6 January 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published papers relating to the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR) Final report on guidelines on reporting under Articles 4 and 12 of the SFTR. The final report provides a detailed assessment of the feedback received to ESMA’s consultation paper published in May 2019, as well as a more detailed discussion on the market transactions that are not in scope. In particular, section 3 of…

On 23 December 2019, the FCA published a new webpage highlighting the changes that the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2019 (2019 Regulations) make to the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017). The FCA webpage notes in particular that the 2019 Regulations amend: Regulation 33 of the MLR 2017 requiring firms to include new additional high-risk factors when assessing the need for enhanced…