The proposals would give the Bank of England wide-ranging powers to deal with acute failure scenarios, treating policyholder liabilities as loss-absorbing.

By Victoria Sander and Tim Scott

HM Treasury is proposing a new UK resolution regime for insurers that would appoint the Bank of England as resolution authority with sweeping powers to resolve insurers through transfer or bail-in, and to make resolution plans and assess resolvability in advance. The regime would share many similarities with the Banking Act 2009 (BA09).

FSMA 2023 includes a court procedure for failing insurers to temporarily write-down liabilities, with implications for counterparties.

By Victoria Sander and Tim Scott

The recently passed Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (FSMA 2023) provides for a new write-down procedure under which failing insurers can apply to court to have their insurance liabilities written down. Write-downs are intended to be temporary (though no period is specified), followed by a subsequent write-up, which is a transfer of the business or application

As the pace of reform increases, we take a look at key developments and the timeline ahead.

Significant progress has been made on the Edinburgh Reforms since they were announced in December 2022, with developments gathering pace before the summer break. Given the breadth and speed of the reforms, now is a good time to take stock of where things stand and what we can expect in the months ahead. In this publication, we highlight some of the key developments and set out expected dates for future progress.

The Review recommends scrapping research unbundling, but also proposes a range of other changes to the UK research landscape.

By Rob Moulton, Chris Horton, Sean Wells, Charlotte Collins, and Johannes Poon

On 10 July 2023, HM Treasury published the final report produced by the independent UK Investment Research Review (Review). The Review was launched on 9 March 2023 to examine the link between levels of research and the UK’s attractiveness as a destination for companies to access capital (please see Latham’s previous blog post for the background to the Review).

The report makes seven recommendations which the government has committed to taking forward. While the recommendation to remove the research unbundling requirements was expected, the Review has taken a more holistic approach and the report puts forward wide-ranging suggestions for improving the UK investment research landscape. The recommendations are summarised below.

The consultation sets out four potential models for reform, and also considers reform to sanctions supervision.

By Rob Moulton, Jonathan Ritson-Candler, Thomas F. Lane, and Charlotte Collins

On 30 June 2023, HM Treasury published a consultation on reforms to anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) supervision in the UK. HM Treasury is consulting on structural reforms to how AML and CTF requirements on firms are supervised and enforced, but is not consulting on changes to the AML and CTF requirements themselves at this stage. A separate consultation on changes to the Money Laundering Regulations is expected in late 2023.

One of the options HM Treasury has proposed could significantly impact the way in which financial services firms are supervised for AML/CTF purposes, and so firms should read and consider the proposals carefully.

The tone of the Call for Evidence indicates the controversial research unbundling rules could be primed for reform.

By Rob Moulton, Gary Whitehead, and Charlotte Collins

On 3 April 2023, HM Treasury published a Call for Evidence as the first step in the independent review of investment research and its contribution to the competitiveness of the UK’s capital markets.

The review has the stated key objectives of:

  • Assessing the link between levels of research and the attractiveness of the UK as a destination to list
  • Evaluating options to improve the UK market for investment research and to provide recommendations to this effect

The review was announced as part of the Edinburgh Reforms in December 2022. The Chancellor noted at the time that “the review is part of the government’s wider commitment to enhance the UK’s ability to attract companies to list and grow”.

The consultation considers what a potential regulatory regime would look like, and its proposed scope.

By Nicola Higgs, Paul A. Davies, Becky Critchley, Anne Mainwaring, Ella McGinn, and Charlotte Collins

On 30 March 2023, HM Treasury published a consultation on regulating ESG ratings providers, which ties in with and was published alongside the UK government’s latest Green Finance Strategy paper.

The government announced as part of the Edinburgh Reforms last year that HM Treasury would consult on a potential regulatory regime for ESG ratings providers. Now HM Treasury is seeking views on whether such a regime should be introduced, and what its potential scope should be. The government is not proposing to regulate ESG data providers for the time being. The consultation is open until 30 June 2023; no further timetable has been set at this stage but it could take a couple of years for any new regime to be finalised and take effect.

The tone of the papers suggests that a fundamental reform of the Regime will be unlikely.

By Rob Moulton, David Berman, Jonathan Ritson-Candler, and Charlotte Collins

On 30 March 2023, the PRA and the FCA published a joint Discussion Paper (FCA DP23/3 and PRA DP1/23) seeking feedback on the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR). In parallel, HM Treasury published a Call for Evidence on the Regime. The Discussion Paper focuses on the operational aspects of the SMCR, whereas the Call for Evidence looks at the legislative aspects. Together, the papers seek comments on the SMCR’s performance, effectiveness, scope, and proportionality. The closing date for responses is 1 June 2023.

A consultation that will remain open until 11 April 2023 offers further clarity on the proposals to regulate buy-now-pay-later products.

By Rob Moulton, Becky Critchley, Ella McGinn, and Dianne Bell

On 14 February 2023, HM Treasury published its consultation and accompanying draft legislation on the regulation of buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) lending. The consultation follows the proposals in HM Treasury’s prior publications released in October 2021 and June 2022, since the government announced its intention to bring currently unregulated BNPL products within scope of the regulatory perimeter. This latest consultation provides some welcome clarity on the approach to this upcoming sea change for firms operating in the BNPL space.

The key changes will be effected by amending the current fixed-sum interest-free credit exemption in Article 60F(2) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 (RAO). BNPL lending usually falls within this exemption as such agreements meet the conditions as interest-free loans repayable in under 12 months and in 12 or fewer instalments. Article 60F(3), which provides an exemption for running-account credit, will remain unchanged.

A reminder of the ongoing reforms to implement recommendations from the Lord Hill and Kalifa Reviews.

By James Inness, Anna Ngo, and Johannes Poon

The outcome of the UK Secondary Capital Raising Review, launched on 12 October 2021 to improve further capital raising processes for UK publicly traded companies, was published by HM Treasury on 19 July 2022. (For further details, please see this Latham blog post).

Below is a recap on the other key developments on reforming the UK capital markets following the Lord Hill and Kalifa Reviews.