UK’s FCA Seeks Comments on Streamlining Investor Protection Rules
The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority launched a consultation on proposals to transfer firm-facing requirements of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive Organisational Regulation (MiFID Org Reg) into FCA Handbook rules.
The MiFID Org Reg contains rules for investment firms and related firms that are designed to ensure market integrity and investor protection, and the FCA aims to transfer the rules into its rulebook without making policy changes, the regulator said in a Wednesday (Nov. 27) press release.
“We are maintaining the regulatory requirements for firms to provide continuity,” the release said. “As part of this work, we will also engage market participants, industry leaders and trade bodies to seek views on how best to improve, simplify and streamline the rules.”
With this consultation and the transfer of the rules, the FCA seeks to lower costs for firms and support the economy, according to the release.
The FCA’s consultation follows a Treasury policy paper published Nov. 14 that outlines its next steps for reforming the U.K.’s MiFID to support competitiveness while maintaining high regulatory standards.
It also comes on the heels of other regulatory reform efforts announced by the FCA.
In another, separate move, the FCA published its cryptocurrency regulation roadmap Tuesday (Nov. 26) and said it plans to issue its final crypto rules in 2026.
The roadmap also outlines a series of “focused consultations” designed to make policy development transparent and help people participate in the process.
“Our research results highlight the need for clear regulation that supports a safe, competitive and sustainable crypto sector in the U.K.,” Matthew Long, director of payments and digital assets at the FCA, said in a press release. “We want to develop a sector that embraces innovation and is underpinned by market integrity and consumer trust.”
On Monday (Nov. 25), the FCA launched an economic research competition that seeks research proposals focused on the growth and productivity of the U.K. financial services sector, the international competitiveness of that sector and “supporting the U.K.’s economy and considering regulatory impacts.”
The competition will award four winners up to 30,000 pounds (about $38,000).
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