Regulatory Watch – UK Edition – March 2020

When we set out our Top 20 regulatory topics for 2020 back in the January edition of RegWatch, despite the existing cases of COVID-19 – already a crisis in Wuhan, China – we could not have anticipated that two months later we would be battling a global pandemic that has threatened – and temporarily curtailed – our way of life. Yet, despite the unprecedent impact on our day to day lives, life (and regulatory challenges) go on. 

In this issue of RegWatch, we review the COVID-19 response from regulators and what this means for firms. The situation continues to evolve rapidly; please note the information in this issue is correct at the time of finalising, however remains subject to almost daily updates by regulators and the UK Government.

Many firms have been battling with a market crisis, coupled with a black swan, real-life business continuity test on a scale no firm could have imagined, while ensuring their people remain safe and protected. We explore some of the challenges firms should consider, to ensure they are prepared for the coming weeks and months, as well as any retrospective regulatory scrutiny.

As always, a snapshot from EROS – our regulatory horizon scanning tool – is appended, setting out the regulatory news; in a departure from our usual approach, we have only included news from the past three weeks. If you have any comments, suggestions, or would like further details on any of the features included in this month’s edition, please do not hesitate to contact me or the team.

Manmeet Rana

UK Head – Aurexia