Financial services sector
With the end of the Brexit transition period and the onshoring of key pieces of EU financial services legislation into UK law, there have been a number of changes to the UK’s financial services framework. The resources outlined below will help you navigate those changes and identify key publications, including in relation to the UK’s temporary permissions regime and equivalence decisions.
UK developments
Brexit SI Toolkit
Following the success of A&O’s regulatory temporary permission regime (TPR) tool, we have developed two new toolkits which enables firms to manage and implement the changes to onshored EU law resulting from a no deal Brexit.
The UK Government is onshoring key pieces of EU financial services legislation into UK law through statutory instruments (SIs) with UK regulators onshoring relevant technical and implementing legislation through binding technical standards made by way of exit instrument (BTSs). The SIs make extensive changes to the EU legislation. The amendments introduced by the SIs and BTSs are expected to come into force on 1 January 2021, following the end of the implementation period. The UK Government as well as the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are providing limited transitional relief in respect of some of these changes. UK firms and EEA firms doing business in the UK will need to consider the operational and compliance implications of such changes required (i) immediately on 1 January 2021; and (ii) on the expiration of any applicable transitional relief. Since the application of such onshored EU legislation and the regulators’ transitional relief differ in certain instances depending on whether you are a UK firm or an EEA firm, we have developed two toolkits; one for EEA firms and another for UK firms. Each toolkit does the same and covers the same onshored legislation, simply with a different, tailored perspective.
For more information download the toolkit flyer or get in touch with your usual A&O contact.
Brexit Statutory Instruments tracker
- IP Completion Date
This table sets out the Brexit SIs that amend onshored retained EU legislation and will come into force at the end of the implementation period (IP Completion Date). The table also provides details of key UK financial services legislation to be amended by each SI.
Temporary Permissions Regime – UK regulator publications
- This table sets out the regulators publications in relation to the Temporary Permissions Regime.
Binding technical standards and rule-set changes – UK regulator publications
- This table sets out the PRA and BoE publications relating to the binding technical standards and rule-set changes.
- This table sets out the FCA publications relating to the binding technical standards and rule-set changes.
Equivalence
- This table summarises existing third country provisions within EU financial services legislation and outlines whether the European Commission has taken an equivalence decision for each provision in relation to both the UK and other third countries. We also highlight whether relief is available under the UK regulators’ temporary transitional powers (TTP) or because of a UK equivalence decision
EEA Transitional Measures Tracker
- This table summarises the current position across the EEA.
Client bulletins
Post-Brexit UK framework
- The Financial Services Act 2021 (June 2021)
Brexit Statutory Instruments – a series of briefings:
- The EEA Passport Rights (Amendment, etc, and Transitional Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (November 2018)
- Financial Regulators’ Powers (Technical Standards) (Amendment etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (November 2018)
- Capital Requirements (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (November 2018)
- Markets in Financial Instruments (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (November 2018)
- Bank Recovery and Resolution (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (November 2018)
- Alternative Investment Fund Managers (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (November 2018)
- The Collective Investment Schemes (Amendment etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (November 2018)
- The Over the Counter Derivatives, Central Counterparties and Trade Repositories (Amendment, Etc., and Transitional Provision) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (EMIR SI) (December 2018)
The UK Regulator’s Approach – our commentary
- Resolution in the UK post-Brexit - onshoring the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (December 2018)
- The UK regulation of EEA banks post- Brexit – some clarity on how the PRA ruleset will apply to firms that avail themselves of the temporary permissions regimes (November 2018)
- The UK regulation of EEA firms and funds post-Brexit - clarity on how the FCA rule-set will apply to firms that avail themselves of the temporary permissions regimes (October 2018)
- Brexit and the financial services - welcome clarity from the UK regulators (April 2018)
- The changes continue: UK financial services authorisation and supervision post-Brexit (January 2018)
Other insights
- Dramatic December Election - Consequences for Financial Services Regulation (December 2019)
- Post-Brexit options in the Luxembourg financial sector (August 2019)
- Changes to the deadlines to notify the UK Regulators to benefit from the UK’s Temporary Permissions Regime (April 2019)
- New French Brexit-Related Ordinance (February 2019)
- UK contractual continuity regime post Brexit (January 2019)
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Brexit impact on asset and fund managers (July 2016)
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Asset managers who are managing a UCITS or AIF (June 2016)