On 27 July 2022, the FCA published its highly anticipated final rules and guidance on the new Consumer Duty, ushering in a fundamental cultural shift in the way that regulated firms will approach and serve customers, and starting the countdown clock for implementation plans across the industry.

On 15 June 2022 HM Treasury published the outcome to its consultation on amendments to the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLRs). The changes to the MLRs will be implemented through the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2022 Statutory Instrument. A draft of the Statutory Instrument and explanatory memorandum have also been published. The amendments bring the MLRs in line with updated FATF standards and fill gaps in the current operation of the UK’s AML regime, most significantly in relation to cryptoassets.

Regulators and policymakers have left emergency measures behind and returned to their reform agendas. In this piece, Baker McKenzie regulatory experts set out the top ten UK developments for financial institutions and fintechs to watch in 2022 covering: good culture, Consumer Duty, BNPL regulation, crypto regulation, AML regulation, appointed representatives regime, financial promotions gateway, operational resilience, ESG regulation, divergence, Future Regulatory Framework Review.