The FCA’s authorisations operating metrics for April to June 2025 show that 12 metrics are green, 2 are amber and 1 is red. The 1 red category is due to 11 applications being determined after the statutory...
Category - Topics
Laura WilesTrust Financial Planning enters liquidation
Trust Financial Planning Ltd has entered into creditors’ voluntary liquidation. Paul Stanley and Dean Watson of Begbies Traynor were appointed joint liquidators of the firm on 7 August 2025. In March 2025, the...
FCA publishes latest whistleblowing data
The FCA has published whistleblowing data for Q2 2025.� It received 315 new reports during the quarter, an increase on the last quarter. Around half of the reports came in through online reporting, with most of the rest via email. 32% of reporters wanted to stay anonymous.
The 315 reports contained 1,130 allegations, with over 100 allegations relating to compliance, fitness and propriety and culture, and nearly 100 to the Consumer Duty.
The FCA closed 350 reports, taking significant action to manage harm in relation to 8 of them and other action to reduce harm in relation to almost half.
Emma RadmoreCMA consults on retail banking undertakings
The CMA is consulting on its provisional decision that the provisions of the SME Banking Undertakings 2002 – the limitation on bundling provisions which require 8 banks not to make customers open BCAs as a...
FOS consults on case fee restructuring
The FOS is consulting on changing the way it charges its case fees, so that firms pay less for complaints that are resolved at an early stage of the investigation process. Currently firms pay £650 for each case the FOS...
Is HNW declaration valid where exact words do not match CONC?
In a case relating to action against guarantors of a loan facility, the Commercial Court has considered unfairness under the CRA and the application of the High Net Worth exemption for credit agreements. Three...
FCA blogs on leveraging the non-bank sector
Sarah Pritchard of the FCA has published a blog of her thoughts on use of leverage by non-bank financial institutions. She notes it is critical to the UK economy that these NBFIs are resilient and financially stable...
Appointed Reps regime to stay
The Government has decided, years after its predecessor sought views on the issue, that the Appointed Representatives regime should stay in place in its current format. However, it does recognise that poor oversight...
FCA updates on open banking standard setting body
The FCA has published a feedback statement on the design of the future entity for UK open banking. The “Future Entity” will provide the core standards for open banking services, and the FCA is planning to...
Regulators make changes to EMIR trade repository reporting
The Bank of England has finalised changes to the UK EMIR Trade Repository reporting requirements, which take effect from 26 January 2026. Meanwhile the FCA is consulting on new Q&As relating to counterparty...
Michael LewisFCA creates wholesale banks webpage
The FCA has created a new page on its website to bring together the results of its various workstreams involving wholesale banks. The page contains the output from its reviews on: conflicts of interest in share buybacks...
Lords concerned at FCA motor finance redress scheme plans
The House of Lords Financial Services Regulation Committee has written to the FCA setting out a few concerns about the proposed scope of the FCA’s redress scheme in relation to motor finance commissions. Although, of...
FCA reviews transaction governance in wholesale banks
The FCA has carried out a review of transaction governance in 6 wholesale banks, seeing to check that firms have a clear framework and governance process for considering risks from transactions. It asked each bank to...
FCA review shows firms continue to see “off-channel” breaches
The FCA has carried out a review on how firms approach communications that take place outside of monitored and recorded channels. It carried out the review specifically with wholesale banks and other firms within scope...
FCA confirms new payments safeguarding rules… for now
The FCA has confirmed its reform of the safeguarding rules for payment firms. The new rules will take effect from 7 May 2026 (giving firms 9 months lead in) in the form of what the FCA now describes as a “Supplementary...
FCA updates Enforcement Information Guide
The FCA has updated its Enforcement Information Guide, which sets out its regulatory enforcement process and powers. The document builds on more detailed information provided in DEPP and the Enforcement Guide (ENFG)...
FOS publishes complaints data for Q1 2025/26
FOS has published its complaints data for Q1 2025/26. Key statistics include: 68,000 complaints processed within the first 3 months of the financial year, with lower levels of complaints about everyday financial...
Ella MarshFCA publishes multi-firm review on climate reporting rules
The FCA has published findings from its review of climate reporting by asset managers, life insurers and FCA-regulated pension providers. In 2021, the FCA finalised its climate disclosure rules, requiring the above...
FCA fines Woodford and former director £46m for management failures
The FCA has issued fines totalling almost £46m to Woodford Investment Management (WIM) and its former director and investment manager, Neil Woodford, for failures in their management of the Woodford Equity Income Fund...
FCA warns CMCs on motor finance promotions
The FCA has formally warned CMCs that they must ensure any financial promotions they put out about motor finance claims are Consumer Duty compliant. It has had increasing interaction with CMC firms and, between 1...
FOS motor finance appeal scheduled for September 2025
Following the much awaited Supreme Court judgment in the Johnson, Wrench and Hopcraft cases, FOS has announced that the Court of Appeal hearing on DCAs in motor finance will take place from 16 – 18 September 2025...
FCA enables retail access to crypto ETNs
The FCA has announced that firms will – as of 8 October 2025 – be able to give retail customers access to crypto exchange traded notes (cETNS). cETNS for retail customers must be traded on an FCA-approved...
FCA publishes latest Handbook Notice
The FCA has published its latest Handbook Notice (No 132), which includes amendments relating to: new rules to better capture non-financial misconduct in non-banks; the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading...
FCA fines Sigma Broking £1.1m for transaction reporting failures
The FCA has fined Sigma Broking Limited £1.1m for transaction reporting failures. In January 2024, Sigma informed the FCA that it had submitted approximately 984,000 incorrect reports. Following independent review, it...
FCA to consult on motor finance redress scheme
In the light of the Supreme Court judgment of 1 August, the FCA has confirmed it will consult on a redress scheme. It says it is clear that there have been breaches of the law and its rules where motor finance firms did...
Motor finance commission: Supreme Court allows lender appeals
The Supreme Court has delivered its long-awaited judgment on motor finance commissions, and has allowed lender appeals on 2 of the 3 matters under appeal. It upheld only the CCA unfair relationship claim.�This post has been drafted on the basis of Lord Reed’s speech. We will publish updated and more detailed articles in the light of the published judgment.
Delivering the judgment, Lord Reed described the nature of the relationships involved. He focussed on how the car dealer is dependent on the finance being agreed in order to sell a car. He spoke of various actions the dealer could take if, for instance, the lender would not advance enough credit or the monthly payments would be too much for the customer to pay. The key, he said, is that the dealer has a commercial interest in the negotiations over the finance package, which will continue until the package is entered into.
He moved on to discuss how the consumer does not deal directly with the finance company, although the loan agreement is directly between the consumer and the finance company. The motor dealer will make all the arrangements. It does not act as agent of the customer, is not remunerated by the customer and does not give the customer any reassurance that it is putting its commercial interests aside – and it could not do that! The Supreme Court noted that FCA rules require the dealer to disclose that commission is receivable if it could affect the dealer’s impartiality or have a material impact on the customer’s decision, but that nothing in the regulatory regime requires lender or dealers to disclose the existence or amount of any commission payment or to get the customer’s consent.
The customers seeking to recover from the lenders the commission that had been paid to the brokers all contended that:
the finance companies committed the common law tort of bribery by paying commission to the dealers
the dealers owed the customers a fiduciary duty and as such could not have any personal interest in the conclusion of the transaction and if that is so, acceptance of the commission was a breach of this, and the lenders had dishonestly assisted in the breach by paying the commission
Mr Johnson additionally claimed the relationship was unfair under the CCA.
The Supreme Court, noting that the Court of Appeal’s stance had shocked the lenders and the FCA, stated:
the payment of commission was not a bribe. The car dealers clearly and properly had an interest in the finance being arranged, and clearly wanted to sell the vehicles at a profit, and so clearly owed no duty to the customers. Each of the 3 parties (lender, dealer, customer) was engaged at arm’s length pursuing their own interests, and no-one could think otherwise;
for the same reason, no-one could think the dealer was acting as a fiduciary because it was at all times pursuing its commercial interests. The Supreme Court said that the distinguishing obligation of a fiduciary is often described as a “duty of single-minded loyalty to the person for whom they act”;
the Court of Appeal had failed to understand that the dealer had its own interests and mistakenly thought the dealer was acting in the interests of the customer once the customer had chosen the car. It was also wrong to take the approach that because the customer trusted the dealer and may have been vulnerable this meant that the dealer was acting as fiduciary.
So the Court of Appeal was wrong on the first two issues. On the unfair relationships issue, the Supreme Court said that the fact there may have been no or only partial disclosure of commission did not of itself make a relationship unfair. There are many factors to consider. Here, a major factor was that the commission was 55% of the total charge for credit, and that large figure is a good indication of unfairness.� Additionally here the documentation was misleading in that they did not disclose that the dealer and lender had an agreement that gave the lender first refusal – in fact it gave the impression that the dealer would go to a panel of lenders to get the best price for the loan. The fact that Mr Johnson did not read any of the documents he was given was not a persuasive factor against a decision of unfairness, given that the information in question was well hidden – even though, had Mr Johnson read it, it could have led him to discover the amount of the commission. The Supreme Court said the lender should pay to Mr Johnson the amount of commission plus a commercial rate of interest, and that because what the Court of Appeal had said was full of mistakes, the lender’s appeal had to be allowed so as to substitute an order in Mr Johnson’s favour on different terms to the Court of Appeal’s.
The Supreme Court also explained that it had refused the Treasury’s application to intervene since the Treasury wanted to discuss the economic impact of any decision, which is not within the Court’s interest.
Home office updates on POCA reporting exemptions
The Home Office has updated its guidance on the exemptions for the principal money laundering offences under POCA that mean those within the scope of them do not have to make a DAML SAR to proceed with a transaction...
PRA calls for views on making residential mortgage market competitive
The PRA has published a discussion paper on a range of potential policy changes to the treatment of residential mortgage exposures under the internal ratings based (IRB) approach to credit risk. The paper arises from...
FCA calls for better use of friction in digital loan processes
The FCA has reviewed how firms design digital and in-app loan processes, and, while it has seen much helpful behaviour such as clear, simple language and explanations, it also found that some processes: lack the...
SRA and FCA warn claims managers over motor finance commission claims
The SRA and the FCA have put out a warning to relevant law firms and CMCs reminding them they must comply with the correct rules on handling motor finance commission claims. It warns that if, following the Supreme Court...
NECC annual report
The National Economic Crime Centre‘s annual report for 2024-5 highlights work done : to combat fraud, including working with international partners; to fight illicit finance, including with significantly enhanced...
FOS publishes 2024/25 ADR report
The FOS has published its report on complaints it received in the year to 8 July 2025, It notes the figures don�t include complaints brought by businesses but may include some brought by charities and trustees.
Key stats include:
285,640 complaints from UK consumers (up from around 175,000 last year) and 7,515 from non-UK residents;
complaints relating to 285,279 businesses in the UK(up from around 175,000 last year) and nearly 7,900 outside the UK;
of the total complaints, nearly 237,499 were about banking and nearly 43,000 about insurance;
538 (or 0.18%) complaints were dismissed, for various reasons, including:
over half of them because the FOS considered that dealing with it would seriously impair its effective operation; and
20% because the complaint subject matter had already been subject to court proceedings where there had been a decision on its merits; and
average resolution time of 61 days (up from 42).
PRA consults on transferring CRR definitions to Rulebook
The PRA has published a consultation on PRA Rulebook Glossary definitions to replace those currently set out under the Articles 4, 4A, 4B and 5 of the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR). The consultation follows HM...
Regulators identify 5 live “wider implications” issues
The latest log of wider implications issues that potentially affect large numbers of consumers, where there could be significant redress or where there is a risk of business failure identifies 5 recent, new and ongoing...
FCA starts action over unauthorised CIS
The FCA has started action in the High Court against Concept Capital Group and another 6 individuals and 2 companies it alleges were involved in an unauthorised collective investment scheme which invested in static homes and took more than �23m in consumer investments. The FCA says CCG operated the unauthorised CIS without authorisation and exemption, made financial promotions that were not approved and also made false or misleading claims about the investments – which promised investors fixed returns and said they were Government backed.� The other companies and individuals were knowingly concerned in the breaches.
Unlocking global opportunities – carbon credits
We’ve written an article on how the U.S. policy shift on carbon credits may lead businesses to reconsider where they invest and operate, and the position of the carbon market Scotland and the UK generally –...
Chris McLauchlanFCA finalises ban following Court of Appeal support
The FCA has finalised its decision to ban Markos Markou from financial services and fine him �10,000, following the Court of Appeal supporting the FCA’s position in December 2024, and the Supreme Court rejecting his application for permission to appeal further. The Upper Tribunal had asked the FCA to reconsider the ban and said it should not impose a fine, but the FCA believed that decision to be “incorrect and irrational” and referred it to the Court of Appeal which, while not wholly reversing the Tribunal’s findings, found the ban was the correct decision, but considered the appropriate amount of fine to be �10,000 rather than the �25,000 proposed by the FCA.
FCA revokes ban after Supreme Court IBOR ruling
Following the Supreme Court ruling that quashed the convictions of Carlo Palombo and Tom Hayes the FCA has revoked Mr Palombo’s ban and ending its action against Mr Hayes, which he had referred to the Upper...
Supreme Court to give motor finance commission ruling on 1 August
The Supreme Court is to hand down its judgment in the FirstRand Bank v Johnson case at 4:35 on Friday 1 August.� While waiting for it, you can listen to our podcast to remind yourself of what’s happened so far.
FCA appoints interim FOS chair
The FCA has appointed Liam Coleman as the interim chair of the FOS. His role will begin on 10 October 2025. Coleman has extensive financial services experience, including at the Co-Operative Bank, RBS and Nationwide...
PRA issues first reinsurer fine
The PRA has fined Barents Reinsurance S.A., London Branch, £1.79m for controls, governance and reporting failures. The fine is the first that the PRA has taken against a firm operating solely as a reinsurer. Barents is...
Former deputy CEO banned for misleading FCA
Jean-Noel Alba, former deputy CEO of asset manager H2O AM has been fined �1m and banned from the financial services industry for deliberately misleading the FCA.
The firm had failed to carry out proper due diligence on investments between 2015 and 2019. During the FCA’s investigation, Mr Alba provided false and misleading statements and documentation. He also asked junior colleagues to create minutes where formal meetings had occurred, and provided due diligence materials, including investment research, which he claimed were produced at the time, but had in fact been created years after the investments were made.
Employment legislation update – July 2025
This month we include a short update on the Employment Rights Bill, which is still going through the Parliamentary process. The Bill is expected to be given Royal Assent and become the Employment Rights Act in the...
Karen Plumbley-JonesEmployment cases update – July 2025
Our case law update this month includes Hendy Group Ltd v Kennedy, which dealt with an unfair dismissal where the employer had failed to look for suitable alternative employment for an employee in a redundancy situation...
PRA confirms plans for faster ISPVs
The PRA has published its final policy on introducing a new accelerated pathway for UK ISPV applications in respect of some types of catastrophe bonds which will mean that applications meeting set conditions can be...
FCA announces more firm failures
The FCA has announced that two more firms have failed: Argentex LLP, authorised to provide e-money and payment services and also wealth management, went into special administration under the Payment and EMI Insolvency...
Supreme Court quashes IBOR convictions
The SFO will not be seeking a retrial of 2 individuals it had started to investigate 13 years ago and who have now had their convictions quashed by the Supreme Court. The 2 traders had been accused of conspiring with...
Treasury consults on OFSI enforcement
HM Treasury is consulting on enhancing the effectiveness of the OFSI enforcement process. It is proposing: changes to the public case assessment guidance; discounts for voluntary disclosure and cooperation; a settlement...
Market Watch focuses on transaction reporting
The latest edition of Market Watch looks at recent FCA experience from supervising the UK MiFID transaction reporting regime. It is disappointed that it sees “persistent inefficiencies” from firms who have...
FCA invites UK-Swiss cross border business interest
The FCA is using the Berne agreement to start inviting firms to express interest in providing cross-border services between the UK and Switzerland. The agreement will benefit wholesale firms, with UK wholesale insurance...
FCA finds poor practice in home and travel insurance claims handling
The FCA has published analysis showing that increases in the cost of motor claims – including higher prices for cars, parts, labour, energy, and more complex supply chains – have contributed to premium...
OFSI finds high risks associated with sanctions compliance in cryptoassets sector
OFSI has published a report setting out its threat assessment relating to sanctions compliance in the cryptoassets sector. Key takeaways included that it is: almost certain that cryptoasset firms have under-reported...
PRA creates webpage for low impact changes
The PRA has created a new webpage to list proposals for, and confirmations of, minor and low impact changes to its rules. Several amendments are under consultation until 2 September.
NCA and FCA highlight 9 economic crime priorities for regulated sector
The NCA and FCA have set out their 9 priorities for tackling economic crime in the regulated sector. The publication follows the 2025 NRA, and the NCA and FCA say there will be further guidance to help firms interpret...
FCA makes first set of mortgage reform rules
Following its short consultation, the FCA has finalised the package of measures that will achieve the first stage of the planned mortgage reforms. The changes address primarily remortgaging and will make it easier for...
POCA threshold amount increase
The threshold amounts under which banks and payment firms can carry out transactions where they suspect money laundering without needing a defence under POCA has been increased from £1,000 to £3,000 with effect from 31...
BoE and FCA reaffirm FMI oversight cooperation
The BoE and FCA have updated their MoU on the supervision of FMIs. In updating the MoU, the regulators wrote to Central Counterparties (CCPs), Recognised Investment Exchanges (RIEs) and Recognised Central Securities...
PRA finalises Rulebook restatement of CRR and Solvency II requirements
The PRA has published its policy statement on the changes to take effect on 1 January 2026 that will continue and in some cases finish the restatement of assimilated law into its Rulebook. The changes mainly affect:...
FCA and ICO set out thoughts on Open Finance and Smart Data
The Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum has published the joint views of the FCA and the ICO on the technologies that are shaping Open Finance and the regulatory questions stemming from its development. APIs are likely to remain key to Open Finance and Smart Data as they facilitate real time, secure and trusted data exchange. So common standards and strong interoperability across sectors and providers will be essential. Another key driver could be AI which has the potential to carry out many key chores including automating data cleaning and preparation, enhance fraud detection, assess creditworthiness, deliver advice and recommendations and help consumers to open accounts and switch products.� However, with that comes risks, not least addressing questions around automated decision-making, transparency and explainability.
There is also the potential for DLT and smart contracts to play a role, which could, for example, automate administrative tasks, improve data integrity and security and track the flow of data for easier auditing. But, again, there are risks, such as it being potentially difficult to revoke access to or correct data, and it may be unclear who is responsible if things go wrong.
More generally, the key regulatory issues are:
balancing evolution of technology with fostering trust in new products and services and delivering good outcomes for consumers;
organisations ensuring they consider which lawful basis for processing data is most appropriate to enable the required data sharing;
what effective data minimisation would look like;
achieving transparency and consumer understanding when AI is used;
the role of regulators; and
embedding trust.
Court confirms that compulsory liquidation stay on proceedings does not prevent sale of property by a secured creditor
The High Court has held that the stay in section 130(2) of the Insolvency Act 1986 does not apply to the sale of property by a secured creditor pursuant to a power of sale: Waypark Commercial Mortgage 1 Limited v...
National Risk Assessment highlights increased risk arising from adoption of financial technologies
The Home Office has published the fourth National Risk Assessment, setting out the key money laundering and terrorist financing risks for the UK. The NRA identifies the following key risk areas: fraud; sanctions...
OFSI launches online reporting and licencing forms
OFSI has launched online forms for submitting licence applications, reporting suspected breaches, and other key reporting such as on frozen assets. The forms will operate alongside existing processes during a transition...
PRA updates on DyGIST
The PRA has confirmed that the 2026 Dynamic General Insurance Stress Test (DyGIST) will commence in May 2026. The PRA has set out the insurers it will invite to participate in the test, who together make up more than...
HM Treasury sets out improvements to MLRs
HM Treasury has reviewed the responses to its consultation on improvement the effectiveness of the MLRs, and has published a response setting out key areas where it intends to make changes. The consultation covered four...
PRA updates on large exposures changes
The PRA has published its policy statement on some changes to its Large Exposures Part of the Rulebook. The changes relate to: exposures arising from mortgage lending; exempting exposures to the UK deposit guarantee...
FCA consults on rules for Deferred Payment Credit lending
The FCA has published CP 25/23 to consult on its approach to regulated Deferred Payment Credit lending, which is now in FCA’s regulatory perimeter following legislative change. The consultation, which closes on 26...
Stephen WilsonFCA fines for financial crime failings
The FCA has levied another fine on a bank for financial crime risk management failings. This fine was on Barclays Bank UK PLC and Barclays Bank PLC and related to 2 clients: in one case, failure to check that the bank...
Mansion House speech supports Leeds Reforms
The Chancellor’s Mansion House speech, delivered in the evening of 15 July, highlighted many of the Leeds reforms, and set out the Chancellor’s key priorities. She highlighted: for capital raising, recent changes to the...
FCA confirms cuts in costs of capital raising
The FCA has confirmed its proposals to make it cheaper for companies to raise money. The confirmed changes include:
in most cases, companies will not have to publish a prospectus when raising further capital (the threshold is raised to 75% of existing share capital, from the current 20%);
IPOs that include the wider public can come to market 3 days after the prospectus is published (currently 6 days);
a single disclosure standard for corporate bond prospectuses; and
new platforms for public offers run by authorised firms to make it easier for companies to make offers of shares or bonds above �5m without a lengthy prospectus – essentially crowdfunding platforms but for larger deals.
Generally the changes will take effect on 19 January 2026.
Treasury consults on cross cutting regulatory reforms
HM Treasury has published the feedback on its consultation on the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, which has helped it form its 10 year plan. Part of the strategy is to make several cross-cutting...
PRA publishes measures to help mid-size credit institutions
ThePRA is planning some adjustments to its Basel 3.1 implementation to better help mid-size banks and building societies while maintaining market stability. The changes affect the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book...
UK Green Taxonomy not happening
The government has assessed the responses to its consultation on developing a UK Green Taxonomy and has concluded that it is not the best way to deliver the green transition and should not be part of the UK’s...
John ConnorTreasury publishes market and wholesale updates
In the wake of the Leeds reform announcements, HM Treasury has published: recommendations for the FMI Committee from the Chancellor, required under the BoE Act; guidance on the government’s approach to designating...
FCA confirms market reform and authorisation improvement plans
The FCA has outlined the steps it has already taken or is consulting on to reform UK investment markets, and has set out plans to speed up authorisation processes. It plans: to take 2 months off its current target times...
Treasury confirms plans to support captive development
HM Treasury has confirmed its plans to introduce a new UK captive insurance framework. The PRA and FCA have welcomed the confirmation, and will consult in summer 2026 on the rules and policies needed for an effective...
Government publishes policy on targeted support
The Government has confirmed its policy on the new proposals already published by the FCA on offering targeted support. In support of the FCA’s proposals, HM Treasury has published a draft statutory instrument...
BNPL regulatory changes made
The legislation making changes to Buy-Now-Pay-Later regulation have now been made and take effect on 15 July for the purpose of allowing the FCA to make its rules. This means the new regulated activities take effect on...
Government publishes plans to apply FSMA style regulation to the CRR
HM Treasury is progressing its work to apply the FSMA model to the assimilated laws for banks, building societies and investment firms. It has published a policy paper confirming its approach to implementing Basel 3.1...
Government, FCA and FOS to modernise redress system
The Government is consulting on FOS reforms. The reforms are designed to stop FOS acting as a quasi-regulator – most notably to ensure its decisions align more with FCA rules. Proposals include: adapting the...
Government and regulators consult on SMCR reforms
HM Treasury is consulting on SMCR reform. Specifically, it seeks views on: the removal of the Certification regime from the legislation that created the SMCR, something that was promised in the Mansion House speech in...
Government announces “Leeds reforms”
After the Edinburgh reforms, we now have the Leeds reforms! The Government has announced an ambitious package of measures to attract inward investment into the UK and financial services businesses. Rachel Reeves announced the UK’s first Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness sector plan. The plans include:
giving consumers support to invest;
create good skilled jobs;
encouraging banks to offer investment opportunities to people with cash in low-interest accounts;
encouraging the industry to highlight to consumers the opportunity to invest when they can – the Government says that, based on current trends, if consumers move �2,000 from low interest accounts into stocks and shares, they could be over �9,000 better off in 20 years’ time;
the BoE will allow more lending at over 4.5 times a buyer’s income and simplified FCA Rules, if adopted, will make remortgaging easier. The changes will also allow the Nationwide to make its “Helping Hands” scheme available to lower income borrowers – now the thresholds are �30,000 for solo and �50,000 for joint applicants (�5,000 lower than previously);
there will be a new government-backed Mortgage Guarantee Scheme to ensure high loan-to-value mortgages are available in times of economic uncertainty;
FOS will need to align its decisions more closely with FCA rules;
the SMCR will be radically streamlined;
the FCA is to review how the Consumer Duty affects and applies to wholesale firms;
the MREL threshold will be raised to �25-49bn;
the Basel 3.1 rules will come in from January 2027;
reform of the ring-fencing regime;
a major FPC review of bank capital requirements;
providing bespoke support to fintechs;
greater financial capacity for the British Business Bank; and
progressing the Berne Financial Services Agreement, so that it is fully implemented by the end of the year.
See our separate posts on some of these initiatives!
PISCES: Will the stars align for private investment?
We’ve published a new article exploring the recently launched Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) platform. In this article, we examine: What PISCES is Who is responsible for...
FCA publishes Open Finance Sprint report
The FCA has published a report setting out the outcomes of the Open Finance Sprint it held in March 2025. The sprint aimed on practical data-sharing use cases for supporting four opportunity areas: financial wellbeing;...
PSR publishes annual report
The PSR annual report focuses on:
that 99% of FPS transactions are now within Confirmation of Payee;
the APP fraud reimbursement reforms;
driving forward open banking; and
reaching milestones on card fee reviews.
FCA annual report highlights key stats
The FCA’s annual report highlights its work in several areas, including: to tackle financial crime and unauthorised financial services, it suspended, removed or blocked over 1,600 websites in 2024 – also working with...
FCA to review client categorisation rules
The FCA says it is planning to consult on reform of the investment client categorisation rules to allow firms to act more proportionately when dealing with wealthy or sophisticated investors. The paper, on reform of the...
Treasury updates AML advisory
HM Treasury has updated its AML advisory notice in respect of high risk third countries, following the latest FATF meeting. The changes to the list took effect from the date FATF published it.
Payments and e-money firm Ziglu enters special administration
Ziglu Limited – an authorised e-money and payment services firm – has entered into special administration. David Shambrook and Damian Webb of RSM were appointed joint special administrators of the firm on 7...
Pensions Dashboard Programme updates on progress
The Pensions Dashboard Programme (PDP) has provided an update on the progress of the scheme, which launched in April 2025. Over 20m pension records have now been connected to the new platform, and the State Pension as...
BoE fines Vocalink £11.9m for compliance failure
The BoE has fined Vocalink Limited £11.9m in respect of a compliance failure under s.196 of the Banking Act 2009. This marks the first time that the BoE has fined a financial market infrastructure (FMI) firm. Vocalink...
PRA to review LTI limit rule and offers interim modification by consent
Following recommendations by the FPC, the PRA is reviewing the loan to income (LTI) ratio requirements, and offering a modification by consent in the meantime for firms to disapply the relevant rule. The current...
Financial Stability Report considers continued geopolitical risk and uncertainty
The BoE has published the Financial Policy Committee’s latest Financial Stability Report. The FPC found that risks and uncertainty associated with geopolitical tensions, global fragmentation of trade and financial...
BoE sets out thematic findings from 2024 Cyber Stress Test
The BoE has published a report setting out its thematic findings from the 2024 Cyber Stress Test, a voluntary exercise which involved providers and users of wholesale services to model the impact of a suspected cyber attack affecting transaction settlement.
The stress test used three variations of the scenario: a suspected cyber attack; a confirmed cyber attack; and a longer cyber attack.
Key findings included:
Financial stability decisions�– while participants had mature scenario modelling and response capabilities, they lacked a comprehensive understanding of the FPC’s Impact Tolerance and how potential impacts could lead to financial instability.��Firms are encouraged to consider actions to protect financial stability and manage systemic risk from operational disruptions;
Financial stability mitigation
Operational mitigation – some participants had not tested all available workarounds for processing payments, highlighting the need for firms to collaborate with FMIs to ensure awareness and adoption of mitigation options;
Confidence mitigation – participants demonstrated good understanding of the Sector Response Framework (SRF) processes.��However, further work is needed to improve awareness of operational resilience contingency procedures among customer relationship managers and incident responders;
Financial mitigation -while capital is a fungible mitigant to losses, it does not mitigate operational disruption impacts. Service providers needed a better understanding of customer firms’ funding positions to meet liquidity needs during longer incidents;
Disconnection and reconnection – firms’ decisions about disconnecting from critical systems affect their ability to mitigate financial stability impacts.��It is important for firms to understand disconnection and reconnection options, align them with risk appetites, and reflect potential financial stability impacts in their playbooks.��The Cross Market Operational Resilience Group (CMORG) is working on defining best practice reconnection processes.
Treasury Committee to question insurance industry heads
The Treasury Select Committee will hold a one-off oral evidence session with the leaders of four major insurance firms on the state of the insurance industry. MPs are seeking to understand the main challenges, concerns...
Regulators increase mortgage lending threshold
The PRA has amended its Rulebook and the FCA has amended its Guidance on the de minimis threshold for the Loan to Income flow limit in mortgage lending. The Financial Policy Committee had recommended increasing the...
FCA publishes final Credit Information Market Study
The FCA has published its final report with its package of proposed remedies for the Credit Information Market Study. The remedies focus on: data quality; consumer awareness and engagement; competition and innovation;...
FCA fines Monzo for financial crime control failings
The FCA has fined Monzo £21m for failings in its financial crime systems and controls. The failings became apparent as Monzo’s customer base and its product offering grew rapidly, and its financial crime prevention...
Regulators and Lloyd’s agree streamlined managing agent authorisation process
The PRA, FCA and the Society of Lloyd’s have agreed to streamline the regulatory approval process for Lloyd’s managing agents. The changes follow a successful pilot operated in the Lloyd’s market in...
FCA updates PEP guidance
The FCA has published its updated finalised guidance on the treatment of PEPs for AML purposes. The update follows its 2024 consultation, which noted that the old 2017 guidance was still basically suitable, but...