FCA’s Wholesale Markets and Buy-side Regulatory Priorities Report
Last month, FCA published a webpage announcing the introducing of 9 new annual Regulatory Priorities reports. These reports will replace the previous portfolio/Dear CEO letters. The change follows the publication of the FCA’s 5 year strategy in March 2025 where it committed to streamlining how it sets and communicates its supervisory priorities.
On 19 March, FCA published its report for
Each chapter of the report identifies:
an FCA priority
what the FCA will do this year; and
what it expects firms to do.
Interestingly, FCA are using its reporting system, RegData, to conduct more bespoke supervisory work relating to this report. Impacted firms (including fund and asset managers, corporate finance firms and trading firms) should have received notification of a new “information request” in their RegData schedule.
The RegData filing is simple tick-box confirmation that firms have read the report and provided it to the appropriate stakeholders and senior leadership. Sounds simple enough however the contents of the report and actions it requires of firms is far more comprehensive.
ComplyCraft have developed a gap analysis tool firms can use to demonstrate engagement with the report and manage the actions arising from it.
Get in touch if you would like to discuss the report and its impact on your firm.