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FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS ACT 2000:  RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Bulletin number 15 from HM Treasury

This is the fifteenth bulletin covering developments on the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).  Previous bulletins can be found on the Treasury Website.

Laying of secondary legislation under the FSMA

Since bulletin 11 we have made the following orders:

• SI No.3582: The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000

(Dissolution of the Board of Banking Supervision)(Transitional Provisions) Order 2001

SI No.3544: The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Order 2001               

• SI No 3542: The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Law Applicable to Contracts of Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations 2001

• SI 2001 No.3538 (c.115): The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Commencement No.7) Order 2001
  
  
• SI 2001 No.3439: The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Official Listing of Securities) (Amendment) Regulations 2001
  
  
• SI No.3437: The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Disclosure of Confidential Information) (Amendment) Regulations 2001
  
  
• SI No.3436 (c.113): The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Commencement No. 6) Order 2001

Consultation

We have today published a new consultation document on “Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 - Administration for Insurers”.  Responses to consultation are requested by 29 January 2002.

Availability

The consultation document will be available on the Treasury website http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/consultation/index.html.  Hard copies are available, by e-mail or telephone, from Deirdre Barrie at (Deirdre.Barrie@hm-treasury.gov.uk or 020 7270 1634.) 

Regulated Activities Amendment Order

The Government made a commitment to consider technical and clarificatory amendments to the Regulated Activities Order before N2. To meet this commitment the Regulated Activities Amendment Order (S.I. No. 3544) was made and laid before Parliament on 1 November 2001. This makes a number of technical and clarificatory amendments to the Regulated Activities Order including:

Article 30  (Arranging transactions in connection with lending on the security of insurance policies) is amended. The exclusion is now extended to cover the making of an introduction in relation to an in-issue life policy, and the giving of advice to approach a moneylender, as was the case under predecessor legislation. 

Article 38(b)  (Managing investments: Attorneys) has been amended to include an exclusion from the activity of managing investments for instances in which an overseas person takes the relevant decisions. 

Article 61  (Regulated Mortgage Contracts) is amended to ensure that mortgage loans will be regulated by the same body throughout their life.  The former version was subject to a different interpretation.  In one view, a firm that administered a second charge mortgage that subsequently became a first charge mortgage would have required authorisation by the FSA.  This was never the policy intention and the proposed amendment clarifies the position.

HM Treasury

6 November 2001