The UK financial services regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has published a consultation to update its guidance on social media financial promotions.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning technology is driving important new business opportunities across a growing number of industry sectors, including consumer goods and retail. Many CG&R companies are looking into how AI can enhance their business processes and customer interactions and with generative AI and the arrival of ChatGPT, the scope for application is staggering.

The EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act aims to promote, improve and ensure operational resilience within the financial services sector. It requires financial institutions to comply with a number of obligations designed to ensure that their business lines remain operationally resilient against various risks. Being “operationally resilient” means being able to resist, recover from and adapt to adverse effects that can disrupt or prevent the provision of services.

This virtual seminar series provides insights on how the regulatory landscape is changing and discuss the future of crypto within the financial services sector. Recordings of the following sessions are now available — The Crypto Ecosystem; Integrating Crypto into Established Financial Services (Part 1: Funds and Listings and Part 2: Practical Considerations); Crypto Risk: Significant Legal and Regulatory Risks; A Deep Dive into NFTs; and DeFi (Decentralized Finance).

The speed and volume of change in the crypto asset markets has accelerated across the globe, with established financial institutions increasingly entering the sector whilst regulators look to keep pace. Recent high-profile developments and market volatility have led to growing calls for scrutiny and regulatory controls. Navigating this fast paced environment, within a sometimes disjointed regulatory framework, can be challenging. The Crypto Boot Camp 2022 Series covers the crypto ecosystem and integrating crypto into established financial systems (recordings available), crypto risk (3 November 2022), NFTs (15 November 2022), DeFi (1 December 2022), and Growth in Crypto (6 December 2022).

The speed and volume of change in the crypto asset markets has accelerated across the globe, with established financial institutions increasingly entering the sector whilst regulators look to keep pace. Recent high-profile developments and market volatility have led to growing calls for scrutiny and regulatory controls. Navigating this fast paced environment, within a sometimes disjointed regulatory framework, can be challenging.
This virtual seminar series will provide insights on how the regulatory landscape is changing and discuss the future of crypto within the financial services sector. Set out below are details of our 2022 series.

In this edition of In the Know, we will provide a “primer” in respect of the developments in the digital bond space, using the European Investment Bank bond as a potential bellwether event for future development in our markets and then try and address some fundamental questions — what does all this mean for our market? Where are we headed now?

Mirroring earlier proposals by the European Commission, in a move anticipated by the industry, HM Treasury has confirmed that it will implement a regime whereby third-party firms designated as “critical” will be subject to direct regulatory oversight by the financial regulators. The Treasury published a policy statement on 8 June 2022, setting out its framework for mitigating the risks caused by financial services firms outsourcing important functions to third-party service providers.

At UK FinTech Week 2022 in April, the Treasury announced a host of new and forthcoming initiatives to build on the UK’s “FinTech success stories” and support its push to become the loading global hub for crypto businesses. The initiatives range from incubators (like the Financial Market Infrastructure Sandbox and the FCA’s CryptoSprint events), to industry engagement partnerships through a Cryptoasset Engagement Group, to reviews of the tax treatment of crypto and the legal status of Decentralised Autonomous Organisations. Most significant among the announcements is the Treasury’s confirmation that it will bring activities that issue or facilitate the use of stablecoins used as a means of payment into the UK regulatory perimeter.

Episode 26: UK Fintech Week 2022: State of the Fintech Nation
In this episode of FInsight, London partners Sue McLean, Mark Simpson, and David Hart talk about UK Fintech Week 2022. They cover the biggest trends and developments around fintech in the UK, with special focus on the expected topics throughout the event. The episode takes a closer look at the investment landscape (including the UK’s position as a fintech hub, active investors and top sub-sectors) and the current and expected regulatory developments that fintech players need to watch out for.