On 26 March 2021, HM Treasury issued a press release stating that technical discussions on the text of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was agreed in a Joint Declaration on Financial Services Regulatory Cooperation alongside the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, have now been concluded. The statement adds that formal steps need to
March 2021
ESMA advises on framework for data reporting service providers

On 26 March 2021, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published its final advice to the European Commission on data reporting service providers (DRSP). The advice focuses on the fees, fines and penalties applicable to DRSPs subject to EU supervision as well as the criteria determining whether certain DRSPs may…
Commission adopts Delegated Regulation supplementing BRRD with RTS on estimating Pillar 2 and combined buffer requirements for setting MREL

On 26 March 2021, the European Commission adopted a Delegated Regulation that specifies the methodology to be used by resolution authorities to estimate the requirement referred to in Article 104a of the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) and the combined buffer requirement for resolution entities at the resolution group consolidated level for…
ESMA publishes technical advice on fines and penalties for benchmark administrators

On 26 March 2021, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a final report containing technical advice to the European Commission on procedural rules for imposing fines and penalties on benchmark administrators under its direct supervision.
The technical advice follows a consultation paper that ESMA issued on 23 December 2020. The final…
Recently published in the OJ
On 26 March 2021, there was published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJ):
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/527 of 15 December 2020 amending Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565 as regards the thresholds for weekly position reporting. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565 establishes the minimum thresholds referred to in the second
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FCA Handbook notice No. 86

On 26 March 2021, the FCA issued Handbook Notice No. 86.
The Handbook Notice describes the changes to the Handbook and other material made by the FCA Board and the Financial Ombudsman Service Board under their legislative and other statutory powers on 25 March 2021 and 22 March 2021 respectively. On these dates the…
BoE / FCA survey findings – liquidity management in UK open-ended funds

On 26 March 2021, the Bank of England and the FCA published the findings of their joint survey of liquidity management in UK-authorised open-ended funds. The joint survey was launched in August 2020, and covered a reporting period from Q4 2019 to Q2 2020, incorporating the extreme market conditions in March 2020 in the wake…
FSCS – Management Expenses Levy Limit 2021/22 – PS5/21

On 26 March 2021, the PRA published Policy Statement 5/21: Financial Services Compensation Scheme – Management Expenses Levy Limit 2021/2022 (PS5/21). In PS5/21 the PRA provides feedback to responses to Consultation Paper 4/21: Financial Services Compensation Scheme – Management Expenses Levy Limit 2021/22. It also contains the final rules for the Financial…
FCA publishes feedback to Call for Input on open finance

On 26 March 2021, the FCA published a Feedback Statement to its Call for Input on open finance.
The FCA published its Call for Input in December 2019. It reports that it received 169 responses.
The responses show that open finance could potentially offer significant benefits to consumers but also create or increase risks and…
PRA / FCA Dear CEO letter – transition from LIBOR to Risk Free Rates

On 26 March 2021, the PRA and FCA (together the regulators) published a joint Dear CEO letter on the transition from LIBOR to Risk Free Rates.
Key points in the Dear CEO letter include:
- The regulators expect all firms to meet the milestones of the Working Group on Sterling Risk Free Reference Rates and
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