UK's HM Treasury publishes guidance on how it will assess and designate overseas jurisdictions under Overseas Recognition Regimes

HM Treasury published an Overseas Recognition Regimes guidance document setting out how the UK will run its outcomes-based approach to recognising overseas regulatory frameworks, including the principles for making designations and the processes for monitoring, reviewing, amending and withdrawing them. The guidance explains that each regime is structured around its scope, effect, policy outcomes and “matters to consider”, with designations decided by HM Treasury ministers based on evidence-led assessments supported by technical advice from the relevant UK regulators. Designations will be made by statutory instrument with parliamentary scrutiny and may be partial, time-limited or subject to conditions, and in some cases overseas firms may need to register with or be recognised by a regulator to support ongoing reporting. Ongoing oversight is framed around proportionate monitoring and engagement, with withdrawal treated as a last resort but available where a designation is no longer compatible with policy outcomes or wider UK obligations such as sanctions, human rights and anti-money laundering. HM Treasury also indicates that it intends to restate around 270 EU equivalence decisions in UK law with the same effect as assimilated equivalence regimes are replaced by Overseas Recognition Regimes, and may continue taking decisions under assimilated regimes during the transition. The publication is accompanied by tables showing the lead regulators for advice under each regime and an overview of existing HM Treasury decisions and designations, and it references a July 2025 memorandum of understanding with the Bank of England, the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority on coordination for assessments and ongoing monitoring.