The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today published its final instruments and guidance that will only be enforced if the UK leaves the EU without a deal or an implementation period.

The FCA said it has been working to “deliver a transition that is as smooth as possible”, with most of the instruments published having been made under the powers granted to the regulator under the EU (Withdrawal) Act. The instruments have been approved by the Treasury, allowing the authority to now make them final.

However, despite now being final, the instruments are largely unchanged from the near-final versions, which were published in February, with the most significant change being that the instruments now commence on “exit day”, rather than 11pm on 29 March.

The powers allow the FCA to temporarily waive or modify obligations on UK-supervised persons where those obligations have changed, as a result of the EU Withdrawal Act. This allowed regulated persons time (15 months in most cases) to adapt to changes to UK financial services regulation as a consequence of Brexit.

Furthermore, the regulator has published the majority of its final transitional directions and guidance for using the transitional power, and identified three additional areas where it has made amendments to the near-final directions published in February.

The three areas that the changes apply to are; UK managers of EEA UCITS funds; the application of the client assets sourcebook (CASS) to activities carried on from an EEA branch; and the distance marketing provisions.

Commenting, FCA international executive director Nausicaa Delfas said: “The documents published today are the final stages in our preparations in the event that the UK leaves the EU without an implementation period: they ensure that firms have certainty of the financial regime they will be operating within, and so can plan accordingly to meet the needs of their customers.”

The FCA will publish information about technical standards under EU legislation on capital requirements, banking resolution and financial conglomerates later once the PRA has published similar information.

The FCA has also confirmed it has extended the notification window for firms who wish to enter the TPR until the end of 11 April 2019.

Share Story: