On 28 March 2019, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a statement providing guidance on the new EMIR Refit regime for the clearing obligation for financial and non-financial counterparties.
The statement provides guidance for financial and non-financial counterparties subject to EMIR on when they need to determine whether they are subject
On 27 March 2019, the Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (BATF) announced jointly with The Wolfsberg Group and the International Chamber of Commerce, the publication of appendices to its 2017 Trade Finance Principles guidance document.
The guidance document addresses the due diligence required by global and regional financial institutions of all sizes in the
Last night, the House of Commons (the Commons) held a series of indicative votes following its resolution of 25 March 2019 which provided for a series of votes on ways the Government could proceed as regards its Brexit strategy.
Earlier in the day, the Commons debated the Business of the House motion stemming from the
On 27 March 2019, HM Treasury published a letter from Economic Secretary, John Glen MP, to the Chair of the House of Lords European Union Committee. The letter provides an update on the progress of the EU Regulation on disclosures relating to sustainable investments and sustainability risks (the Regulation).
Trilogues began on the Regulation in
On 27 March 2019, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) published its annual plan and budget for 2019 – 2020. Amongst other things, the PSR intends to conduct work over the coming year on issues that include:
On 27 March 2019, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) announced that it was renewing its restrictions on the marketing, distribution or sale of contracts for differences (CFDs) to retail clients from 1 May 2019 (following the publication of the restriction in the Official Journal of the EU), for a further 3-month period. The
On 26 March 2019, the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) published a document containing wording setting out the selling restrictions for equity transactions for use following a no-deal Brexit or a Brexit with a deal/transitional period, as applicable.
The wording within the document covers those selling restrictions that are most frequently used in
On 27 March 2019, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published new Q&As on the Prospectus Regulation.
The Q&As provide clarification on the following issues in relation to the Prospectus Regulation:
On 27 March 2019, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published an updated version of its Q&As on MiFID II and MiFIR commodity derivatives topics.
Importantly, the Q&A’s include one updated question on ancillary activity, regarding when a firm that wants to make use of the ancillary activity exemption needs to notify its competent
On 26 March 2019, the FCA published Consultation Paper 19/14: Mortgage customers: proposed changes to responsible lending rules and guidance (CP19/14).
By way of background, the FCA is concerned that some consumers cannot switch to a more affordable mortgage despite being up-to-date with their mortgage payments. This includes those who cannot switch because of changes