In Q3 2020 the European Commission is scheduled to propose a new Digital Finance Strategy/FinTech Action Plan that sets out a number of areas that public policy should focus on in the coming five years. A Consultation designed to gather stakeholders’ views on policies to support digital finance, which will inform that strategy, was published in April 2020.
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Response to Consultation: Overseas Funds Regime: 11 May 2020
In March 2020, HM Treasury published a Consultation (the “Consultation”) on a proposal for an Overseas Fund Regime (the “proposed OFR”), which will establish a new process to allow investment funds domiciled overseas to access the U.K. market, with the objective of replacing the existing regime.
Horizon-scanning Meetings
The Secretariat is considering convening a stakeholder teleconference to discuss such issues in the first half of April. Should you wish to join such a call, please email Venessa Parekh at research@fmlc.org.
You may also like to know that issues affecting particular sectors will be discussed on an ad hoc basis by the FMLC’s discussion groups, known as Scoping Forums. Details about the fields in which these Forums convene, as well as minutes of previous meetings which provide an indicative overview of the topics normally discussed, can be found here. If you would like to join one of these Forums, please contact Katja Trela-Larsen at forums@fmlc.org.
20 March 2020
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is having an immense, if rapidly evolving, impact on individuals, communities, and organisations. In addition to effects on the supply and demand, COVID-19 has jolted the financial markets. Since February 21, 2020, bond yields, oil, and equity prices have sharply fallen, and trillions of dollars, across almost all asset classes, have sought safety. In the United States, 10-year bond yields have tumbled below 0.5 percent and equity prices on major stock indices around the world have fallen.
Given the response by governments around the world to COVID-19, which has included steps such as closing down places of business and restricting the movement of people, several legal issues are likely to arise in the context of the financial markets.
A short note highlighting key issues of legal uncertainty arising in the context of the wholesale financial markets can be found here.
The FMLC will convene for a closed meeting via teleconference next week to discuss these issues. Should you wish to bring any other and/or related issues to the Committee’s attention, please email Venessa Parekh at research@fmlc.org by COB Tuesday 24 March 2020.
Response to European Commission Consultation: Framework for Markets in Cryptoassets: 17 March 2020
The FMLC has drafted a response to the Consultation in the form of two complementary reports. Part I comprises comments on the classification of cryptoassets. Part II comprises comments in response to the section of the Consultation dealing with cryptoassets which fall within the E.U. regulatory perimeter.