New committee on financial services regulation - recommended by House of Lords Liaison Committee - 15 November 2023
The House of Lords Liaison Committee has published its sixth report of the 2022-23 session and has recommended the establishment of a Financial Services Regulation Committee.
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (FSMA 2023) provides for select committees in each of the House of Commons and the House of Lords (or a joint committee) to scrutinise consultations issued by the financial services regulators. The report argues that there is a need for enhanced scrutiny, not only of individual consultations, but also of financial services regulation more generally. It therefore recommends the establishment of a new, freestanding sessional committee in the House of Lords, to be known as the Financial Services Regulation Committee, for this purpose. The new committee will require additional specialist and focused resources.
The recommendation will now go to the floor of the House of Lords for approval.
Gold standard climate transition plans - TPT launches consultation - 13 November 2023
The Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) has published for consultation seven sector-specific guides designed to assist firms in their preparation of climate transition plans and to complement the final TPT Disclosure Framework, published in October 2023. The guides cover, among others, the asset management, asset owner and banking sectors. The consultation will be open until 29 December 2023.
Slaughter and May is advising the Secretariat to the TPT in relation to the Disclosure Framework and sector guidance (see our press release).
Latest phase of explanatory scenario exercise - launched by the Bank of England - 10 November 2023
The Bank of England (the Bank) has launched the latest phase of its System-Wide Exploratory Scenario (SWES) with bank and non-bank participants. The SWES was launched in June 2023 to enhance understanding of the risks to and from non-bank financial institutions, among others.
More than 50 financial market participants, including banks, insurers, central counterparties, asset managers, hedge funds, and pension funds, are taking part. They have been supplied with the details of a severe, but plausible, stress scenario. The exercise is not a test of the resilience of the individual firms participating.
SWES participants are now considering the scenario and will submit their responses in January 2024. The second round of the scenario phase, which will reflect the actions that the participants take in the first round, will be launched in the second quarter of 2024. The Bank expects to publish a final report on the SWES by the end of 2024.
