The Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a report on crypto-assets, which considers work underway, regulatory approaches and potential gaps. The report is being delivered to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors for their meeting in Fukuoka on 8-9 June. International organisations1 are working on a number of fronts, directly addressing issues arising from crypto-assets.

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The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently announced that they will collaborate more closely. This should better protect and improve the integrity and stability of the financial system in both countries. The agreement between the British and Dutch regulators was signed last Monday, 3 June. Since the United Kingdom announced its intention to leave the EU, several financial companies that are currently active in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have applied for a permit to work in both countries. Close cooperation and exchange of information between the FCA and AFM is therefore important for the development of international financial markets and for effective supervision of both companies and capital markets.
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The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has further considered the impact of the United Kingdom (UK) leaving the European Union (EU) without a withdrawal agreement (no-deal Brexit) on the trading obligation for shares (STO) under Article 23 of MiFIR and in the absence of an equivalence decision in respect of the UK by the European Commission (EC).

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Most organisations still falling short of requirements. The (UK) government is determined to toughen its approach to modern slavery following a review of the 2015 Modern Slavery Act, according to Alexandros Paraskevas a professor of strategic risk management at the University of West London. Speaking to Airmic News shortly before the results of the review are due to published, he said businesses “should expect stricter regulation, with sanctions for non-compliance and greater obligations on businesses to mitigate the risks.”
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 In 2018, one of the EBA’s priorities was to play a central role in the regulation and policy framework, with the development and maintenance of the Single Rulebook. In particular, the EBA increased its monitoring role on key parts of the prudential framework such as capital, liquidity, securitisation or models with the aim of strengthening supervisory convergence and the integrity of the single rulebook. Another important part of the EBA’s work focused on payments, namely on the delivery of technical standards and guidelines under PSD2 as well as on supervisory converge to ensure that the PSD2 requirements are applied in a sound, efficient and consistent manner across the EU.
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New plans to regulate the pre-paid funeral sector will ensure the market is competitive and bring to an end the high pressure and misleading tactics in the sale of these plans. The use of high pressure and misleading tactics in the sale of funeral plans will be brought to an end, City minister John Glen announced. New plans to regulate the pre-paid funeral sector for the first time will ensure the market is competitive and consumers, who are often old and vulnerable, understand what they are buying.
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have fined R. Raphael & Sons plc (“Raphaels”) for failing to manage its outsourcing arrangements properly between April 2014 and December 2016. Raphaels has received separate fines of £775,100 from the FCA and £1,112,152 from the PRA in respect of these breaches (resulting in a combined fine of £1,887,252).
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