The Financial Conduct Authority has confirmed the framework for a UK equity consolidated tape, launched an interim daily market activity reporter for shares and proposed targeted reforms to equity market transparency and resilience. The consolidated tape will bring market-wide trading information into a single source and is expected within 18 months. While the FCA found UK equity markets broadly effective and resilient, it said fragmented trading makes a complete view of liquidity difficult and costly to obtain. The consultation would require systematic internalisers to publish prices and volumes at which they are generally prepared to trade up to standard market size. Other proposals include aligning post-trade exemptions for non-price-forming transactions across execution channels, applying the reference price waiver at order level, setting a three-year limit for back-reporting and revoking mandatory market-making agreement requirements. Proposed outage guidance would require trading venues to publish playbooks covering communications, order handling, reopening and fallback closing-price arrangements. The FCA is not proposing to steer trading toward particular execution mechanisms, but plans broader monitoring of market quality. It also reiterated that retail trades executed through Retail Service Provider systems must comply with tick-size requirements after finding that at least three-quarters of sampled trades were off-tick. Feedback is due by Oct. 16, 2026. The FCA will consider responses before procuring the equity consolidated tape provider and aims to finalize the consulted market reforms in the first half of 2027.

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