On 15 January 2021, the House of Commons’ EU Services Sub-Committee launched its inquiry into the future of UK-EU relations on trade in services. The inquiry will examine the impact of the provisions set out in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the UK’s services sector. The service sectors of interest to the Committee’s … Continue Reading
On 13 January 2021, there was published on legislation.gov.uk The Markets in Financial Instruments (Switzerland Equivalence) Regulations 2021 together with an explanatory memorandum. The statutory instrument specifies that the legal and supervisory framework for stock exchanges in Switzerland meet at least equivalent outcomes to the UK’s corresponding regime. It will allow UK investment firms subject … Continue Reading
On 3 December 2020, we reported that the FCA had published a new webpage in which it explained the proposed process for adding a new sub-fund to an umbrella scheme that will be in the temporary marketing permissions regime (TMPR). On 31 December 2020, the FCA updated its webpage by inserting links to the final … Continue Reading
On 4 January 2021, the French regulator (the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution – ACPR) issued a press release reminding UK authorised financial institutions (including those located in Gibraltar) of their obligations towards customers residing in France. As of 1 January 2021, European law is no longer applicable in the United Kingdom (UK). … Continue Reading
As mentioned in our previous post published in April 2019, the French Ministry of Economy and Finance passed a decree dated 22 March 2019 (the March 2019 Decree) implementing the provisions of the ordinance n°2019-75 of 6 February 2019, introducing a contingency plan for the financial services sector in connection with the withdrawal of the … Continue Reading
On 4 January 2021, the FCA issued a new webpage concerning the memoranda of understanding (MoUs) that it had entered into with European authorities and which became effective at the end of the transition period. The MoUs include: A multilateral MoU with EU and EEA national competent authorities covering supervisory cooperation, enforcement and information exchange. … Continue Reading
On 31 December 2020, the FCA published a new webpage concerning passporting in and out of Gibraltar. The webpage covers how firms can passport between the UK and Gibraltar until 31 December 2021. On 4 January 2021, the PRA also published a new webpage concerning Gibraltar passporting arrangements. Passporting rights will continue for firms operating … Continue Reading
On 31 December 2020, the FCA published a new webpage reminding firms that as of 11pm on 31 December 2020 passporting between the UK and EEA States had ended and the temporary permissions regime had come into effect for those firms and funds that notified the regulator that they wanted to enter the regime. While … Continue Reading
Italy: A partial relief on Brexit transition period has been granted to UK banks, electronic money institutions operating through a branch and investment firms (the UK Regulated Entities) that submitted the authorization application to the relevant competent authority before 31 December 2020. Conversely, UK payment institutions, electronic money institutions operating under the freedom of services … Continue Reading
As noted in our blog of 31 December 2020, the FCA has given directions in relation to the application of the derivatives trading obligation under the post-Brexit UK regulatory regime. In one key respect, the approach carries on the asymmetry between the UK and EU regimes by granting UK firms the ability to trade with … Continue Reading
Germany: As previously reported the German regulator (BaFin) has published its reaction to the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). The German regulator states that the provisions of the TCA will apply to financial services only to a limited extent and repeats that the UK service providers will no longer be able to use the European passports … Continue Reading
Having only days previously made statements that such a deal was unlikely and warning their citizens to prepare for a no deal Brexit, the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) announced on 24 December 2020 that they had reached an agreement in principle on trade and co-operation. More than 1200 pages long, the … Continue Reading
On 31 December 2020, the FCA issued a statement on the use of the Temporary Transitional Power to modify the UK’s derivatives trading obligation. The statement provides: The FCA welcomes the announcement that the UK and EU have agreed a Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the associated Joint Declaration on financial services regulatory cooperation. The … Continue Reading
On 24 December 2020, we posted an update on the EU27 temporary transitional measures. Since posting the update colleagues have notified us of the following: Luxembourg: On 24 December 2020, the CSSF announced that it was publishing Regulation 20-09 of 14 December 2020 amending Regulation 20-02 of 29 June 2020 on the equivalence of certain … Continue Reading
On Christmas eve, the UK Government and the European Commission (Commission) announced that they had reached agreement on a free trade agreement. The deal, covering a collective market worth $905 billion in 2019, is covered in a 1,246 page EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (Agreement) which now has to be approved by all 27 EU countries and … Continue Reading
With the Brexit transition period nearing its end, we set out below an update on the EU 27 temporary transitional measures – the table below lists the jurisdictions for which we have received confirmation of the current position, further updates to other jurisdictions will be posted as and when we receive them. Summary of jurisdictions … Continue Reading
On 22 December 2020, the FCA published its final Brexit instruments and Temporary Transitional Power (TTP) directions. The update follows the publication in September of the FCA’s Quarterly Consultation Paper (CP20/18) containing draft, onshoring-related instruments. The final instruments are largely unchanged from the versions consulted on in CP20/18, and these changes are outlined in Handbook … Continue Reading
On 21 December 2020, the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators updated its open letter of 8 January 2019 regarding data reporting under Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011 on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency (REMIT) following the end of the transition period. The purpose of the open letter is to give guidance to … Continue Reading
On 18 December 2020, the Bank of England (BoE) and PRA co-published a Policy Statement entitled The Bank of England’s amendments under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018: Changes before the end of the transition period (PS27/20). In PS27/20 the BoE / PRA provide feedback to the responses to Consultation Paper 13/20: UK withdrawal from … Continue Reading
On 16 December 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued a reminder of the operations planned on its databases and systems at the end of the transition period. In particular ESMA reminds users that: ESMA will continue receiving files but will not produce feedback files during the maintenance window for its Financial Instruments … Continue Reading
On 15 December 2020, HM Treasury published a second stage consultation concerning the taxation of asset holding companies (AHCs) in alternative fund structures. AHCs are companies used as intermediate entities in investment fund structures. Their role is to facilitate the flow of capital, income and gains between investors and underlying investments. In addition, the Government … Continue Reading
On 15 December 2020, HM Treasury issued a Call for Evidence on the UK’s Overseas Framework. The Call for Evidence was previously announced by the Chancellor on 9 November 2020 and is designed to gather information to help the Government understand how the UK’s current overseas framework supports its position as a global financial centre. … Continue Reading
On 11 December 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued a press release announcing that Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited (EUI), the central securities depository (CSD) established in the United Kingdom (UK), will be recognised as a third-country CSD (TC-CSD) after the end of the UK’s transition from the European Union (EU) on … Continue Reading
On 9 December 2020, the FCA published a new webpage, Brexit: frequently asked questions. The webpage covers: Temporary permissions regime (TPR): What is the TPR? What happens with the TPR after the end of the transition period? What if I want to make changes to my TPR submission? Passporting: When passporting ends, who will it … Continue Reading
