| Link(s): | Our approach to international firms | FCA At a glance: our approach to international firms (fca.org.uk) |
Context
The FCA has published a web page setting out the standards it expects from international firms providing financial services in the UK, or which are preparing to apply for full UK authorisation. The published information on the web page is intended for international firms which:
- require authorisation in the UK, including those that have applied or intend to apply in the future (where the FCA is seeking to inform firms’ decision about how they might want to structure their businesses to provide regulated financial services in the UK); or
- are already authorised in the UK.
Key points to note and next actions
Taking the above into account, the published information is not relevant for firms that do not require authorisation to operate in the UK. This includes, for example, persons relying on the Overseas Persons Exclusion at Article 72 of the Regulated Activities Order. Neither does it apply to entities that may require authorisation or registration but are not incorporated in the UK. A table on the web page sets out some examples.
The information is set out under a number of headings and sub-headings, but the main sections within the document are:
- who the published approach applies to;
- what the approach is;
- the FCA’s process for authorising international firms;
- what the FCA considers;
- assessing an international firm’s risks of harm;
- mitigating identified risks; and
- an Annex exploring the potential impact of the approach