On 6 September 2023, the FCA published a speech delivered by Sarah Pritchard, Executive Director of Markets and International, at the Financial Crime Summit 2023. The speech addresses calibrating controls to build confident markets. In her speech, Ms Pritchard makes the following remarks:… Continue Reading
On 17 July 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a report on Suspicious Transactions and Order Reports (STORs). The report provides an overview of how STORs are used across different Member States in the context of the detection and investigation of market abuse, and how their use has evolved over time. The … Continue Reading
On 26 May 2023, there was published on the legislation.gov.uk website, The Insider Dealing (Securities and Regulated Markets) Order 2023. This Order updates Schedule 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993 (CJA), bringing securities and markets on which an offence can be committed in the CJA broadly in line with the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). … Continue Reading
Recently, the FCA published Market Watch 73 which covered the regulator’s market abuse peer review into firms that offer contracts for difference (CfDs) and spread bets. The Market Watch followed the FCA’s earlier Dear CEO letter which was published last December which highlighted the FCA’s expectations of firms offering CfDs (including in relation to the … Continue Reading
On 26 April 2023, the FCA published Market Watch 73. In this Market Watch, the FCA discusses the observations and findings from its recent market abuse peer review into firms that offer Contracts for Difference (CFDs) and spread bets, both of which are particularly vulnerable to being used for insider dealing due to the speculative … Continue Reading
On 17 April 2023, HM Treasury published a draft of the Insider Dealing (Securities and Regulated Markets) Order 2023, (the draft statutory instrument (SII)), along with a draft explanatory memorandum. The SI updates Schedule 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993 (CJA) bringing the securities and markets on which an offence can be committed in … Continue Reading
On 24 March 2023, HM Treasury and the FCA issued a statement providing an update on the criminal market abuse regime (the regime). In the Economic Crime Plan 2019-22, the government and FCA committed to jointly reviewing the regime within the wider context of the Future Regulatory Framework (FRF) Review. The statement provides that the … Continue Reading
On 20 March 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a letter, addressed to the European Parliament and Council, raising concerns over proposed changes to the insider list regime in the Market Abuse Regulation. The proposed changes, put forward by the European Commission (Commission) in December 2022 as part of the Listings Act … Continue Reading
Demonstrating its continuing focus on preventing, detecting and punishing market abuse, on 25th January 2023, the FCA announced that it has commenced criminal proceedings against five individuals, alleging that they conspired to commit offences of insider dealing between December 2019 and March 2021. In addition to insider dealing, the five individuals are charged with money … Continue Reading
On 11 January 2023, the FCA published Market Watch 72. In this Market Watch, the FCA outlines their recent findings on the quality of service provided by Approved Publication Arrangements and Approved Reporting Mechanisms, collectively known as Data Reporting Services Providers (DRSPs), to clients who use a DRSP to meet their MiFID II regulatory reporting … Continue Reading
On 13 December 2022, the FCA published Market Watch 71. In Market Watch 71, the FCA shares their observations about changes in advisory firms’ insider lists since the publication of Market Watch 60. The FCA also reminds firms of the requirement within UK Market Abuse Regulation (UK MAR) to include personal information in insider lists, … Continue Reading
On 24 November 2022, the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) announced that it has updated its REMIT data reporting guidance. Following extensive consultation with stakeholders launched in June 2022 that aimed to improve REMIT data reporting, ACER had published: The updated Transaction Reporting User Manual (TRUM) and its annexes. The … Continue Reading
On 18 November 2022, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a report on the administrative and criminal sanctions and other administrative measures imposed under the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) in 2021. Article 33 of MAR obliges ESMA to publish an annual report with aggregated information of all penalties and measures imposed by Member … Continue Reading
On 18 October 2022, the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) announced that they are strengthening their cooperation to further improve information exchange and avoid potential market abuse in Europe’s spot and derivative markets. Henceforth, ACER and ESMA have announced the following: New joint … Continue Reading
On 18 October 2022, there was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1959 of 13 July 2022 supplementing the Market Abuse Regulation with regards to regulatory technical standards setting out a contractual template for liquidity contracts for the shares of issuers whose financial instruments are admitted to … Continue Reading
The FCA has recently fined Sir Christopher Gent, former non-executive Chairman of a global medical products and technologies company (the Company), £80,000 for the unlawful disclosure of inside information relating to the Company in contravention of the EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU MAR). The published decision contains a number of key takeaways in relation to … Continue Reading
On 3 October 2022, the FCA published Market Watch 70. Market Watch is the FCA’s newsletter on market conduct and transaction reporting issues. In this issue the FCA outlines some of its recent observations on the transaction reporting and instrument reference data regimes. Key points in this issue of Market Watch include: National identifiers. The … Continue Reading
On 23 September 2022, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) updated their Q&As on the Market Abuse Regulation. The following have been updated under the section concerning the disclosure of inside information: 5.11 Financial guidance and disclosure of inside information. 5.12 Market analysts’ expectations and the identification of inside information.… Continue Reading
On 14 July 2022, there was published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJ) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1210 of 13 July 2022 laying down implementing technical standards for the application of the Market Abuse Regulation with regard to the format of insider lists and their updates. The Implementing Regulation enters into force on … Continue Reading
On 13 July 2022, the European Commission published a Delegated Regulation supplementing the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) with regard to regulatory technical standards (RTS) setting out a contractual template for liquidity contracts for the shares of issuers whose financial instruments are admitted to trading on an SME growth market together with an annex. The RTS … Continue Reading
On 23 June 2022, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) updated its Q&As on the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). The ESMA has added a new answer concerning the scope of Article 11(1a) of the MAR. Specifically, the answer covers whether the scope of Article 11(1a) is limited to the communication of information to potential … Continue Reading
On 17 June 2022, in response to recent reports about their approach to market abuse and manipulation, the FCA published a new webpage providing an update on its work in this area. The webpage describes the FCA’s data-led approach plus its use of criminal and civil enforcement tools. Key points on the webpage include: Data: … Continue Reading
On 17 May 2022, the FCA published the latest edition of Market Watch, its newsletter on market conduct and transaction reporting issues. In Market Watch 69 the FCA covers firms’ arrangements for market abuse surveillance, drawing on its observations from engaging with small and medium sized firms. The FCA states that whilst the topics covered … Continue Reading
As the economy starts to recover following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, regulatory changes are under way in the anti-money laundering and market abuse space. In addition, the events in Ukraine, and the wide range of financial sanctions imposed on Russia in response, are having a significant impact on financial markets and must now … Continue Reading
