In a draft policy note titled The Benchmarks (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018: Explanatory Information, the UK Government detailed its approach to "onshoring financial services legislation." The proposed approach would retain and amend EU law so that the EU Benchmark Regulation ("BMR") continues to operate in the UK after the exit date.
The proposed approach would:
- create a UK register for benchmarks, with the UK supervised entities being permitted to use the benchmarks on that register;
- establish a temporary 24-month transition period for EU-approved benchmarks; beyond that period, those benchmarks would have to be approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (through equivalence, recognition or endorsement);
- retain refusal decisions given prior to the exit day; and
- eliminate requirements for cooperation and information sharing.
Market participants are expected to make further submissions when the published draft is available.
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