Firms feeling beleaguered from the additional attention from the FCA (see articles on ‘FCA: Enforcement and Supervision‘ and ‘FCA: Enhanced Supervision‘) will probably not have been surprised to learn that the government has announced a review into wholesale markets and how they operate.
This will be a joint FCA/Bank of England/HM Treasury exercise with a view to raising standards of conduct in the financial system; fixed income, currency and commodity markets receive a specific mention.
The review – a consultation will be launched this Autumn – will run for 12 months and is expected to make recommendations on topics such as tools to strengthen the oversight of market conduct and whether the regulatory perimeter should be extended e.g. FX and precious metals. A final report is anticipated by June next year.
