On 9 December, Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced a set of reforms to drive growth and competitiveness in the financial services sector.
The government is committed to strengthening the UK’s position as a world-leading wholesale capital markets centre, and is taking forward reforms to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) framework through the Wholesale Markets Review. Measures in the FSM Bill deliver key elements of this. To further support this agenda, the government:
Will today lay before Parliament The Markets in Financial Instruments (Investor Reporting) (Amendment) Regulations 2022, which will remove burdensome EU requirements related to reporting rules. This also builds on the reforms brought forward through The Markets in Financial Instruments (Capital Markets) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 laid in June 2021.
Is committing, alongside the FCA, to having a regulatory regime in place by 2024 to support a consolidated tape for market data. A consolidated tape will bring together market data from multiple platforms into one continuous feed. This will improve market efficiency, lower costs for firms and investors, and make UK markets more attractive and competitive.
Will establish a new industry-led Accelerated Settlement Taskforce to explore the potential of faster settlement of financial trades in the UK. Reducing settlement times from the current industry standard of two days could reduce counterparty risk and increase operational efficiency. The taskforce will bring together industry stakeholders to recommend an approach that works for the UK.
The full statement is available at https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2022-12-09/hcws425