March 2021: The month ahead in financial services regulatory developments…

26 February 2021

In this blog post, we round-up forthcoming developments in the UK and at EU and International levels in financial services regulation which are expected for March 2021.

1 Mar	Intragroup Clearing exemptions under UK European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) expire Proposed implementation date for proposals set out in PRA Consultation Paper 21/20 (CP21/20) on holding company regulatory transaction fees Commencement date for certain provisions within EU (Future Relationship) Act 2020 Deadline for responses to International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) questionnaire on ETFs
2 Mar	Deadline for responses to European Commission CP on review of rules for high-speed broadband Deadline for responses to European Data Protection Board (EDPB) consultation on guidelines on examples regarding Data Breach Notification
3 Mar	UK budget to be published
5 Mar	Deadline for responses to European Supervisory Authorities' (ESAs) CP on amendments to technical standards on the mapping of credit assessments of External Credit Assessment Institutions (ECAIs) for credit risk
8 Mar	Updated EU EMIR validation rules apply
9 Mar	Deadline for responses to Commission CP on Delegated Regulation supplementing EU EMIR and EU Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR) as regards the annual supervisory fees charged by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to trade repositories (TRs) for 2021
10 Mar	Deadline for central registers to be interconnected via the European Central Platform under the Fifth Money Laundering Directive (5 MLD) Most provisions in EU SFDR apply (ESAs were expected to develop certain Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) by Dec 2020, but the Commission extended the deadline in Oct 2020; despite the extension, those subject to the SFDR must still comply with its general commitments from 10 Mar 2021. The RTS will apply at a later date)
11 Mar	Deadline for responses to HMT Call for Evidence (CfE) on the UK framework for cross-border financial services
12 Mar	Deadline for responses to ESMA CP on EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) review report on algorithmic trading (extended) Deadline for responses to Commission CP on European single access point (ESAP)
15 Mar	Deadline for responses to European Banking Authority (EBA) CP on guidelines on monitoring of threshold for establishing intermediate EU parent undertaking under EU Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) Deadline for responses to European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) CP on Supervisory Statement (SS) on own risk and solvency assessment (ORSA) in the context of Covid-19 Expiry date of EU economic sanctions concerning asset freeze and travel restrictions against individuals who threatened Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence (unless renewed)
16 Mar	Deadline for responses to Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) call for information (CfI) on algorithms, competition and consumer harm Deadline for responses to EBA CP on RTS on calculation of risk-weighted exposure amounts of collective investment undertakings (CIUs) in line with Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) Deadline for responses to Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities Markets Standards Board (FMSB) proposals on execution of large trades in FICC markets
17 Mar	Deadline for responses to EBA CP on guidelines on internal governance for investment firms
18 Mar	Deadline for responses to Bank of England (BoE) Discussion Paper (DP) on minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) setting Deadline for responses to Commission adopted proposals for a directive on cybersecurity (Directive on security of network and information systems 2 (NIS 2)), repealing NIS 1
19 Mar	C19 measure: Expiry of ESMA decision lowering reporting threshold for holders of net short positions to 0.1% and above
21 Mar	Deadline for responses to HMT CP and CfE on cryptoassets and stablecoins
25 - 26 Mar	Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) remittal hearing in respect of collective proceedings order (CPO) application for Walter Hugh Merricks CBE v Mastercard Incorporated and Others
30 Mar	C19 measure: End of FCA supervisory flexibility over 10% depreciation notifications
31 Mar	C19 delay: Under Senior Managers and Certification Regime Deadline for solo-regulated firms to have undertaken first assessment of fitness and propriety of certified persons under SMCR FCA conduct rules come into force for staff who are not Senior Managers or certified Deadline for solo-regulated firms’ submission of information about directory persons to the Financial Services Register Firms to be able to demonstrate reasonable steps to ensure compliance with UK derivatives trading obligation (DTO); FCA to review DTO Temporary Transitional Power (TTP) by 31 March 2021 C19 measure: Deadline for consumers to apply for an initial or further payment deferral under FCA November 2020 guidance Deadline for responses to PRA CP on deep, liquid and transparent assessments and the transition of Solvency II technical information from London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) to Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA) on 31 July 2021 Firms to share action plan with PRA on remediation of prudential treatment of legacy instruments by this date Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to publish final strategic plan and budget Final report expected from participants in Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Green Home Finance Innovation Fund (GHFIF) competition Deadline for responses to Law Commission CfE on smart contracts C19 measure: EBA guidelines on legislative and non-legislative moratoria apply Expiry of EBA payment moratoria Deadline for responses to EIOPA first pilot dashboard addressing the natural catastrophe protection gap ESA report on functioning of STS, due diligence, risk retention, transparency requirements and market initiative on standardisation of documents National Competent Authorities (NCAs) to report information about marketing communications to ESMA under the EU Directive and Regulation on cross-border distribution of investment funds Deadline for responses to Commission adopted proposal for the Digital Services Act (regulation)
Mar	UK/EU to agree Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish framework for cooperation including how to move forward on equivalence determinations Policy Statement (PS) to FCA CP20/22, including periodic fees for cryptoasset businesses Deadline for firms in the Temporary Permissions Regime (TPR) or Supervised Run-Off (SRO) to ensure at least one individual is approved/deemed approved to perform Head of Overseas Branch (SMF19) role (12 weeks from end of transition) Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) Annual Plan CMA Annual Plan ESMA reports on sanctions, consolidated quote (EBBO) and consolidated tape (Art 90(1)(e) and 90(2) EU MiFID II, Art 52(5) MiFIR) EBA RTS on prudential consolidation of investment firms groups and Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) on supervisory reporting and disclosures under EU Investment Firm Regulation (IFR) EBA RTS on calculation of thresholds (EUR 30bn) for undertaking trading on own account or underwriting on firm commitment basis to be required to apply for credit institution authorisation

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Bank Accounts and Payment Services Banking Complaints Corporate Governance Cross-border EU Insurance International Investment Management Markets Money Laundering Prudential Regulatory Reporting Retail Investments and Pensions Sanctions UK

Key contacts

Karen Anderson

Consultant, London

Susannah Cogman

Partner, London

Elizabeth Head

Of Counsel, London

Hannah Cassidy

Partner, Head of Financial Services Regulatory, Asia, Hong Kong

Clive Cunningham

Partner, London

Marina Reason

Partner, London

Kelesi Blundell

Partner, London

Jenny Stainsby

Global Head – Financial Services Regulatory, London

Hywel Jenkins

Partner, London

Chris Ninan

Partner, London

Jon Ford

Partner, London

Valerie Tao

Professional Support Lawyer, Hong Kong

Cat Dankos

Regulatory Consultant, London

Patricia Horton

Professional Support Lawyer, London

Disclaimer

The articles published on this website, current at the dates of publication set out above, are for reference purposes only. They do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking any action.

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March 2021: The month ahead in financial services regulatory developments…

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Related categories

Key contacts

Karen Anderson

Susannah Cogman

Elizabeth Head

Hannah Cassidy

Clive Cunningham

Marina Reason

Kelesi Blundell

Jenny Stainsby

Hywel Jenkins

Chris Ninan

Jon Ford

Valerie Tao

Cat Dankos

Patricia Horton

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