The Financial Conduct Authority published a drafted speech by chief executive Nikhil Rathi setting out the regulator’s priorities for UK wholesale markets, combining a focus on market integrity enforcement with an ongoing programme of rule changes intended to reduce friction and support market activity. The speech points to increased action on market abuse and insider trading, including a rise in prosecutions and recent outcomes such as convictions, fines, bans and custodial sentences. It also highlights the FCA’s response to operational failures, citing a GBP 27.7m fine on a Citigroup entity for systems and controls failings that allowed an erroneous USD 1.4bn equities sale in European markets. On reforms already delivered, it references a revised framework for commodities markets and position limits, work towards a fixed income consolidated tape, a rebalanced transparency approach in fixed income and derivatives, more flexible remuneration rules following removal of the bonus cap, a new Public Offer Platform, new prospectus rules, and PISCES for trading private company shares, alongside around 50 significant corporate transactions since the new rules took effect. Looking ahead, the FCA flagged contested areas including private credit, transaction reporting responsibilities, and payment for order flow, and said it is consulting on key design questions for an equities consolidated tape. The UK is set to move to T+1 settlement in October 2026, aligned with major European markets, and the FCA said it is considering how to regulate market infrastructure using digital assets, tokenised securities and distributed ledgers. On crypto, it plans to set out its framework in early summer 2026 ahead of a regulatory gateway opening in September 2026, and indicated it will continue to engage firms on AI through its Innovation Pathways, sandboxes and AI Live Testing.
Financial Conduct Authority 2026-02-26
Financial Conduct Authority chief executive outlines next phase of UK wholesale markets reforms and timeline for crypto regime
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) outlined priorities for UK wholesale markets, emphasizing market integrity enforcement and rule changes to reduce friction. Key actions include increased prosecutions for market abuse, a GBP 27.7m fine on Citigroup for operational failures, and reforms in commodities markets, fixed income, and derivatives. The FCA is also consulting on an equities consolidated tape, T+1 settlement, and digital asset regulation, with plans to release a crypto framework in summer 2026.