HM Treasury has published a near-final draft statutory instrument and policy note to begin revoking the detailed firm-facing requirements in the MiFID Organisational Regulation and to restate key perimeter-defining provisions in UK legislation. The package is positioned as a technical reform under the Mansion House 2024 wholesale markets commitments, with replacement requirements to sit in the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority rulebooks. The draft instrument restates selected provisions of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565 across the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and related secondary legislation, while making consequential changes to maintain cross-references. It introduces a new FSMA 2000 provision on when suspending or removing a financial instrument from trading could cause significant damage to investors’ interests or the orderly functioning of the market, and updates the Regulated Activities Order, including by replacing Part 2 of Schedule 2 (covering definitions relevant to financial instruments such as money-market instruments, spot contracts, physically settled wholesale energy products and other derivative contracts). It also restates definitions and thresholds relevant to algorithmic trading, direct electronic access and high-frequency algorithmic trading technique, including “high message intraday rate” thresholds of an average of at least 2 messages per second for a single instrument or 4 messages per second across all instruments on a trading venue, with related calculation rules. HM Treasury is seeking technical comments on the near-final draft by 14 April 2025. The Financial Conduct Authority consultation on replacement rules has closed, with further feedback on simplification accepted until 28 March, and the Prudential Regulation Authority plans to consult in H1 2025; subject to feedback and Parliamentary time, HM Treasury expects to lay the instrument in Summer 2025 and to commence it alongside the Org Reg revocation after final FCA and PRA rules are published in H2 2025.
HM Treasury 2025-03-18
HM Treasury publishes near-final statutory instrument to restate MiFID Organisational Regulation definitions and move firm-facing rules into FCA and PRA rulebooks
HM Treasury released a near-final draft statutory instrument to revoke MiFID Organisational Regulation requirements and restate key provisions in UK law, as part of the Mansion House 2024 wholesale markets reform. The draft updates the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, introduces new provisions on trading suspensions, and revises definitions for algorithmic trading. The Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority will incorporate replacement requirements into their rulebooks.