The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has further considered the impact of the United Kingdom (UK) leaving the European Union (EU) without a withdrawal agreement (no-deal Brexit) on the trading obligation for shares (STO) under Article 23 of MiFIR and in the absence of an equivalence decision in respect of the UK by the European Commission (EC).

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Most organisations still falling short of requirements. The (UK) government is determined to toughen its approach to modern slavery following a review of the 2015 Modern Slavery Act, according to Alexandros Paraskevas a professor of strategic risk management at the University of West London. Speaking to Airmic News shortly before the results of the review are due to published, he said businesses “should expect stricter regulation, with sanctions for non-compliance and greater obligations on businesses to mitigate the risks.”
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The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is seeking feedback from stakeholders as part of its evaluation of the effects of the too-big-to-fail (TBTF) reforms for banks that were agreed by the G20 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. The evaluation, which is being carried out by a working group chaired by Claudia Buch (Vice-President of the Deutsche Bundesbank), will assess whether the implemented reforms are reducing the systemic and moral hazard risks associated with systemically important banks (SIBs). It will also examine the broader effects of the reforms to address TBTF for SIBs on the overall functioning of the financial system. More details on the evaluation can be found in the summary terms of reference.
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The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued the Sixteenth progress report on adoption of the Basel regulatory framework. As noted by the Group of Central Bank Governors and Heads of Supervision (GHOS), the Committee’s oversight body, its members expect full, timely and consistent implementation of the finalised Basel III reforms by member jurisdictions. The progess report sets out the adoption status of Basel III standards for each Committee member jurisdiction as of end-March 2019. It includes the Basel III post-crisis reforms published by the Committee in December 2017 and the finalised market risk framework published in January 2019. These reforms will take effect from 1 January 2022.
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Companies will be better protected from fraud, under new Companies House reforms that will do more to safeguard the personal data of business owners and ensure the accuracy of the register. Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst unveiled a substantial package of reforms to Companies House. With the clear aim of minimising the burden on law abiding companies, the reforms will contribute to UK efforts to tackle economic crime by increasing the traceability of company ownership and management while offering business owners and businesses greater protection from fraud.
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a discussion paper on Intergenerational Differences, exploring the changing financial needs of consumers from different age groups. The way people build and use wealth is evolving – having an impact on their financial needs. With one of the FCA’s statutory objectives being to protect consumers, it is important that the FCA approach adapts to the changing needs of the different groups within and between generations.
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Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of the FCA, gave a speech about the the future of financial conduct regulation, at Bloomberg, London. He started by saying: “You may quite reasonably think that a title of ‘The future of financial conduct regulation’ is overly dramatic in an environment where we have quite enough drama in the world of public policy thank you very much. Or, you may think that it is typical of a regulator to over promise and under deliver. We shall see, but it is a reasonable ask that I should start by explaining why this subject and why now?”
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The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) today released its Strategy and Work Plan, 2019-2023. Titled Elevating Ethics in a Dynamic and Uncertain World, the publication describes the board’s strategy and priorities toward the setting of high-quality, future-ready ethics standards for professional accountants that are widely adopted around the world.
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is warning General Insurance (GI) firms about manufacturing, sales and distribution approaches that can lead to customers purchasing inappropriate products, paying excessive prices or receiving poor service. The recently implemented Insurance Distribution Directive requires that all firms in the GI distribution chain act in accordance with the best interests of the customer. The recently implemented Senior Manager and Certification Regime is designed to make Senior Managers accountable for the actions of their firms.

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The European Commission has launched an infringement procedure by sending a Letter of Formal Notice to Poland regarding the new disciplinary regime for judges. The Polish government has 2 months to reply. The new disciplinary regime undermines the judicial independence of Polish judges by not offering necessary guarantees to protect them from political control, as required by the Court of Justice of the European Union. Firstly, the Commission is of the opinion that Poland failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 19(1) of the Treaty on European Union read in connection with Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which enshrine a right to an effective remedy before an independent and impartial court.
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