FinBrief

Financing the Green Energy Transition

Posted by Bryony Widdup on 5 July 2022

DLA Piper Partner Bryony Widdup has been in conversation with Jane Goodland, Group Head of Sustainability at LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) to discuss the roadmap towards net zero and the critical role that the financial services industry has to play in climate action.

The conversation covered a variety of key topics, including how sustainable finance, the need for more public policy intervention and a refocusing on transition finance in order to ensure a framework for credible investments in green energy.

EU reaches provisional agreement on cryptoassets regulation (MiCA)

Posted by Martin Bartlam and Marina Troullinou on 4 July 2022

On 30 June 2022, the EU reached a provisional agreement on the landmark markets in cryptoassets (MiCA) regulation. This is a significant milestone for the future direction and structure of cryptoasset regulation in Europe.

MiCA sets out a comprehensive regulatory framework for a number of cryptoassets which currently fall outside the scope of EU regulation, such as certain unbacked cryptoassets and stablecoins. It captures cryptoasset issuers, as well as service providers, including trading venues and wallet providers.

Buy-Now-Pay-Later: Next steps towards regulation

Posted by Sophie Lessar, Leontia McArdle and Lewis Baxter on 24 June 2022

The government has published its response to its consultation on the regulation of buy now pay later (BNPL) and short-term interest-free-credit (STIFC) products. The response follows a consultation from late 2021 and the outcome of the Woolard Review, which focussed on the potential detriment suffered by consumers using BNPL and STIFC products.

UK commits to ‘modernising’ consumer credit laws

Posted by Sophie Lessar and Helena Casson on 17 June 2022

On 16 June 2022, the Government unveiled a series of plans to modernise the Consumer Credit Act (the Act). The proposed reform builds upon the Woolard Review and the recommendations of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), published in its 2019 report. You can read our comments on the Woolard Review here.

UK Regulatory Approach to Stablecoins: HM Treasury Consultation Response

Posted by Chris Harvey and Shabaz Ahmed on 25 May 2022

Since its launch, the cryptoasset market has developed at a rapid pace, with total market capitalisation for cryptoassets estimated to be USD2.6 – 3 trillion in 2021 . The market for decentralised finance ("DeFi"), although small in current scope is expanding quickly too from less than USD10 billion in 2020 to nearly USD100 billion in 2021.

Diversity and inclusion on company boards and executive management – Policy Statement 22/3 by the FCA April 2022

Posted by Michael McKee, Bryony Widdup and Jessica Zajda on 5 May 2022

On Wednesday 20 April 2022, the FCA published Policy Statement 22/3: Diversity and inclusion on company boards and executive management. This statement sets out the FCA's final policy decision based on their proposals originally outlined in Consultation Paper 21/4. The publication of PS 22/3 has come about as a result of the FCA's conscious efforts to raise the profile of diversity and inclusion (D&I) within the financial services sector. Our March 2021 FinBrief offers a useful background to the introduction of D&I within the financial regulatory sphere.

Joint Statement by HM Treasury, the CMA, the FCA and the PSR on the future of Open Banking

Posted by Michael McKee, Chris Whittaker and Jessica Zajda on 20 April 2022

On 25 March 2022 a joint statement on the future of Open Banking was published by HM Treasury, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR). In conjunction with this statement, the CMA also published their response to the consultation they undertook in March 2021 on the future oversight of the CMA's open banking remedies.

HM Treasury Response to Wholesale Markets Review Consultation

Posted by Andreas Gunst and Chris Whittaker on 19 April 2022

On 1 July 2021, Her Majesty's Treasury (Treasury) launched a consultation on proposals to reform the UK's wholesale markets regulatory framework (Consultation).