FCA and PRA multi-firm review on Algorithmic Trading Compliance in Wholesale Markets

Of relevance to: All firms carrying out algorithmic trading in wholesale markets The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) and Prudential Regulation Authority (“PRA”) have been reviewing firms’ algorithmic trading activity and issued supervisory publications. For firms solo-regulated by the FCA, please refer to the FCA supervisory publication. Firms regulated by the [...]

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AML: UK Risk Management

HM Treasury has published the first money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CTF) national risk assessment (NRA).  It may be recalled that earlier this year it published a supervision report on AML/CTF for 2013-14 – see Regulatory Roundup 64. Chapter 6 concerns the ‘regulated sector’; for the purposes of the paper [...]

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Improving Conduct

In July Tracey McDermott, director of supervision, at the FCA, delivered a speech at the British Bankers’ Association Conference. Aimed at the wholesale market, the speech gives clues to the questions all firms should expect to be asked in the context of conduct risk. First, how do you identify the [...]

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Supervision of C4 Firms

When the FCA took over from the FSA, it introduced a new approach to supervision, albeit that for many small firms it may have been difficult to spot any practical difference. Most firms (around 25,000) will fall within supervision category C4 (with the largest firms falling under C1, currently 11 [...]

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FCA Risk Outlook 2014

The publication of the FCA Business Plan 2014/15 (see separate article in this Regulatory Roundup) was accompanied by the FCA Risk Outlook 2014. The FCA Risk Outlook identifies potential issues which require monitoring by the FCA to determine when and how it should intervene whereas the Business Plan sets out [...]

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EMIR: Risk Mitigation

As we know, certain risk mitigation techniques relating to OTC derivative trades not cleared by a CCP came into force on 15 September 2013, namely: Dispute resolution: a firm must tell the FCA about any disputes between counterparties relating to an OTC, its valuation or the exchange of collateral for [...]

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CRD IV: Remuneration and Risk Takers

The European Commission has adopted Regulatory Technical Standards on the identification of ‘material risk takers’, being those staff whose professional activities have a material impact on a firm’s risk profile – see ‘Remuneration code staff’ in SYSC 19A.3.4 and which is effectively a copy-out of Article 92(2) of the CRD. [...]

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Derivative Risk

The FSA has published proposed guidance on derivative risk management practices following a survey of twelve asset managers. Although a ‘derivative risk management process’ is normally associated with authorised funds (COLL 5.2.24), the thematic review looked beyond COLL (‘taking a holistic and outcomes approach ..’) with the survey taking in [...]

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Digestif

And to round off a heavy FRO 2010 the FSA recommend the Asset Management Sector Digest 2010. There are nine key messages in the publication, four of which are deemed ‘priority risks’ being: Controls over client money and assets; The valuation of assets in funds; Platforms; and (of course) The [...]

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Financial Risk Outlook

Somewhat later than usual the FSA has published its 2010 Financial Risk Outlook. The FSA’s 2010/11 Business Plan (‘BP’) will follow in the next few days. It should cover the period 1/4/10 to 31/3/11, although page 73 of the FRO does refer to 2011/12. The purpose of the FRO is [...]

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