Q&As

Benchmarks Regulation Q&As Updated by ESMA

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On July 17, 2018, The European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA“) published an updated version of its Q&As on the implementation of the Regulation on indices employed in financial instruments and financial contracts or to measure the performance of investment funds ((EU) 2016/1011) (Benchmarks Regulation or BMR) (ESMA70-145-11, version 8).

Two key amendments include the definitions of calculation agent and regulated data benchmark.

The Q&As were first published by ESMA in July 2017 and were previously updated in May 2018.

Q&As Published on FSA’s Transition to the FCA

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On July 31, the FSA published a set of questions and answers on the transition to the new Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”). Q&As.

The Q&As confirmed that:

  • Firms will not need to reapply for authorisation under the new regime.
  • There were be a six month transition period following confirmation of the new disclosure wording concerning firms’ regulatory status.
  • There will be little change to existing financial crime oversight and the approach to allocating fees.
  • The FCA will retain the FSA’s online notifications and applications and online regulatory reporting systems.
  • The FSA plans to publish an FCA approach document in October.