On 5 February 2020, there was published on the legislation.gov.uk website, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Central Counterparties, Investment Exchanges, Prospectus and Benchmarks) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (the Regulations), together with an explanatory memorandum.
The Regulations are being made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, which was repealed by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 with effect from exit day, but saved with modifications until IP completion day (31 December 2020).
The Regulations make minor amendments to three EU Regulations and one Directive:
- EMIR 2.2. The Regulations update the definition of EMIR in UK law to refer to EMIR 2.2;
- the SME Growth Markets Regulation. The Regulations amend the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Prospectus) Regulations 2019 to clarify that the FCA is designated as the supervisory authority for the purpose of issuing prior approval of “exempted documents” referred to under Article 1(4)(f) and (5)(e) of the Prospectus Regulation;
- the Low Carbon Benchmarks Regulation. The Regulations amend the Qualifying Provisions Order to ensure that the FCA can enforce any obligation in relation to low carbon benchmarks; and
- MiFID II as amended by the Investment Firms Directive. The Regulations amend the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 Recognition Requirements for Investment Exchanges, Clearing Houses and Central Securities Depositories) Regulations 2001 to take into account the updated tick-size regime.
The Regulations were made on 3 February 2020. They come into force on 27 February 2020.
