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PRA consults on final Basel 3.1 element

The PRA has published a consultation on the final element of Basel 3.1 implementation in the UK: the internal model approach to market risks. Key proposals include: Extending the monitoring period for the profit and...

BoE consults on new approach for CCPs

The BoE is consulting on a new statement of policy on how it will use its permissions and requirements powers to create a discretionary “mobilisation” stage when onboarding new central counterparties. The...

PRA writes to CFOs on resolvability

The PRA has written to CFOs of major UK banks on their preparations for the third Resolvability Assessment Framework assessment which will include a detailed assessment of firms’ ability to achieve the Continuity...

PRA publishes 2026 supervisory plans

The PRA has published its supervisory priorities for 2026. Its main plans focus on streamlining supervision, so that periodic supervisory meetings and other activities will move to a two year cycle – an initiative...

Court considers scope of s26 FSMA

The Court of Appeal was asked to consider whether failure of a law firm to have advised that arrangements constituted collective investment schemes made Claimants who essentially operated and promoted the schemes liable...

Regulators update Regulatory Initiatives Grid

The latest edition of the Regulatory Initiatives Grid updates on timelines for 124 live initiatives across the 9 organisations covered by the grid. The press release heralding the publication highlights the themes of:...

FCA updates on access to cash regime review

The FCA has given an update to the Treasury Committee on its access to cash regime. The FCA’s rules on access to cash came into force in September 2024, and require designated banks and building societies to...

FCA launches open finance tech sprints

In order to support the delivery of open finance, the FCA has launched 2 new TechSprints and announced a new partnership with Raidiam. The partnership with Raidiam follows the launch of its Smart Data Accelerator in...

FCA updates on open banking progress

The FCA has published a research note it commissioned to collect views on open banking and finance in the UK. It wanted a good understanding of the current state of open banking to help to inform future development. The...

Treasury confirms next budget date

HM Treasury has confirmed that the next budget will be released on Wednesday 26 November 2025, and will address an economy that the Chancellor feels is ‘not working well enough for working people’. Rachel...

BoE speaks on “multi-money” system

Sarah Breeden – Deputy Governor of Financial Stability at the BoE – has delivered a speech on innovation in money and payments at the Bank of England and Warwick Business School Innovation in Money and...

FCA 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...

PRA makes depositor protection changes

The PRA has published its policy statement on its implementation of the Bank Resolution (Recapitalisation) Act 2025, which requires it to amend the Depositor Protection Part of its Handbook. The changes: introduce the...

FCA updates on firm support

The FCA has updated its website to explain how it can support both UK and international firms, and how it is working with the Government to help firms and individuals to do business in the UK.

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...

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!

BoE launches DLT innovation challenge

The BoE has launched a distributed ledger technology (DLT) innovation challenge in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub London Centre. The challenge aims to engage with the private...

FCA apologises to FundingSecure customers

The FCA has responded to consumers who lost money as a result of P2P lender FundingSecure Limited’s administration. Complainants had asked the FCA to compensate them for the losses they suffered, on the basis that the FCA had not properly authorised and supervised the firm.
The FCA says that the losses did not result from its actions, but it does accept it should have:

done more to understand that the firm’s business model changed and it started to offer property development loans; and
ensured an approved person was responsible for client money.

Post-authorisation, the FCA believes its oversight was reasonable and proportionate.
So it has not upheld any complaints, but it will make payments of between �50 – �250 to complainants because it took it so long to respond.

The new Scottish security regime – we’ve updated our guide

Under the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023, major changes to how to create effective fixed security over certain types of assets located in Scotland (including Scottish shares and bank accounts) took effect on 1 April 2025.
Two new forms of fixed security over assets � a statutory pledge and an assignation of claims � introduce more streamlined ways of taking fixed security over certain assets, reduce the administrative burden, and allow fixed security to be created over current and future assets (including by certain individuals and corporate entities which can’t grant floating charges).
For current and potential deals, lenders/security agents should consider taking security over Scottish assets under the new regime (and for existing deals, whether there is scope under existing debt documents (for example, undertakings or further assurance provisions) to take advantage of the new regime to have a more robust Scottish security package).
We’ve updated our guide to the Act. Please contact [email protected] and/or [email protected] if you have any questions.

PRA consults on Pillar 2A review

The PRA is consulting on Phase 1 of its Pillar 2A capital review. The paper focuses on how the PRA will address the consequential impacts of the near-final PRA rules implementing Basel 3.1, and also includes proposals to improve information, guidance and transparency for firms. Other proposed changes look to� improve the proportionality of regulation.
The changes address:

credit risk
operational risk
pension obligation risk and
market and counterparty credit risk.

Consultation closes on 5 September.

PRA updates approach to international bank supervision

The PRA has updated its SS5/21 and published a policy statement on business within branches of international banks that operate in the UK, and on what it expects from those entities in terms of booking models and liquidity reporting.
It says it has updated its approach to keep its open approach to international banking, while maintaining safety of the UK system. It has increased the thresholds around FSCS-covered deposits by 30% but has also introduced a new indicative threshold of �300m of total retail and small business instant access deposits above which it would expect the bank to have a UK subsidiary rather than a branch. The PRA has made this, and a few other, changes, partly in response to lessons learnt from the Silicon Valley Bank collapse.

PRA publishes Fees and Levies rates proposals for 2025/26

The PRA today published its CP 8/25, setting out its proposals for fees and levies for the current year.
The Annual Funding Requirement, to cover the PRA’s ongoing regulatory activities, is �328.7m, down �2.6m from last year; similarly, the Total Funding Requirement, which comprises the AFR and other levies, is down by �10.5m from last year, to �342.5m.
Points of interest from the consultation include an outline of how the PRA will be funding work on Future Banking Data, which will build on the Banking Data Review and the ongoing collaboration with the FCA around Transforming Data Collection.
Deletion of underused or duplicative templates will be consulted on, and a firm-facing portal will be developed, facilitating interaction with the PRA, presumably along the same lines as the recently-launched MyFCA.

PRA publishes Business Plan

The PRA’s 2025/6 Business Plan focuses on: significant work already completed on competitiveness and growth – such as the capital requirements to support SME and infrastructure lending, making the Solvency...

FCA publishes latest Handbook Notice

The FCA has published its latest Handbook Notice, which confirms the following updates: Amendments to FEES including to: Add the 2025/26 management expenses levy limit figures; Increase registration fees for small...

BoE launches 2025 Bank Capital Stress Test

The BoE has launched its 2025 Bank Capital Stress Test, aimed at the seven largest and most systemic UK banks and building societies. The test replaces the Annual Cyclical Scenario, and involves a hypothetical stress...

PRA delays Basel 3.1 implementation

The PRA, in consultation with HM Treasury, has decided to postpone the implementation of the Basel 3.1 framework by one year to 1 January 2027. The delay will allow more time for clarity on how the framework will be...

A new Scottish security regime

Major changes to how to grant and take effective fixed security over certain types of Scottish assets (including rental income, debt claims, insurance policies, material contracts, and other moveable assets (like stock...

Ring fencing changes regulations made

Changes to the ring-fencing regime will take effect in February and will implement changes to improve how the regime works. The changes both resolve unintended consequences of the current law, provide greater...

BoE publishes system-wide stress test results

The BoE launched its first system-wide exploratory exercise of how a range of firms behave in stressed market conditions mid-2023, it has now published a final report on how the UK financial system would respond to a...

FCA updates AI webpages

FCA has published a new webpage introducing its ‘AI Input Zone’ a component of its AI Lab. The input zone is designed to be a means by which FCA can canvass a wide range of market participants views so as to...

PRA feeds back on CRR changes

The PRA has published feedback to its consultation on changes to certain parts of its rulebook in respect of: Disclosure and reporting in respect of various CRR requirements; changes to the Policyholder Protection Part...

FCA updates regulatory initiatives grid

The FCA has published an interim update on its Regulatory Initiatives Grid. It had postponed the scheduled 8th edition because of the election and says that the replanning required as a result means that there...

BoE consults on amending MREL approach

The BoE is consulting on restating, where appropriate and with modifications, of UK Capital Requirements Regulation total loss-absorbing capacity (TLAC) provisions to the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible...

Waiver? What Waiver?

In the recent case of Little & Another v Olympian Homes Ltd, guarantors successfully applied to set aside statutory demands in relation to non-payment under their guarantees by relying on an argument of a waiver by...

FCA updates SUP notification form

The FCA has created a new form on its website for use by firms and insolvency practitioners making a Principle 11 notification. The purpose of the form is to get the information the FCA will need to assess how to deal...

BoE speaks on role of private equity

Nathanael Benjamin of the BoE has spoken on the role of the private equity market, focusing on its key role in financing companies but looking also about safe and sustainable growth. Key points from his speech included:...

BoE responds on PRC remit

BoE Governor Andrew Bailey has written  to the Chancellor, updating last year’s response to the letter setting out the Chancellor’s recommendations to the Prudential Regulation Committee (PRC). The letter...

FCA updates on LIBOR transition powers

On 1 January 2018 the EU Benchmark Regulation (BMR) took full effect. Following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and the end of the transition period, the BMR has been brought into UK law (UK BMR). Under the UK BMR, FCA...

PRA consults on step-in risk assessments

PRA is consulting on proposed changes to rules and policy that will require CRR firms and consolidation entities that are not classified as small domestic deposit takers to regularly assess their step-in risk –...