fscom News and Events

‘IPO’, three letters to embody the essence of a $3.76tn UK market, so fundamental that their meaning speaks even to the uninitiated. Initial offerings, however, extend beyond the realms of traditional shares. Yet, for the vast majority, news of an STO – Security Token Offering is likely to fly under the radar.

On the one hand, this comes as no surprise. A report by the Cryptoasset Taskforce confirmed that security tokens compose only a very limited portion of the markets within the UK. Consequently STOs, or Security Token Offerings, are about as common as royalty. On the other hand, despite their nature as cryptoassets, they aren’t so very different to the common shares that marketeers and the public alike have come to know.

In mid-December, the FCA issued a consultation paper (CP20/24) in which it set out the basis for the rules it intends to apply to the prudential requirements for UK investment firms authorised under MiFID II.

For most financial services firms it is probably fair to say that the second week of August is not the most productive week of the year, given that it’s bang in the middle of the holiday season, when staff at all levels are either on leave or have just returned.

Whilst it is natural in such circumstances that firms focus largely on their customer service fundamentals, it remains equally important that all other obligations are properly addressed, including any unscheduled requirements not foreseen when the holiday rotas were being drawn up.

The response to the FCA’s Dear CEO letter issued to investment firms on 24 July falls into this category. It is due on Friday (14 August).

As a result of the unprecedented Covid-19 outbreak, The Bank of England (BoE) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have announced several measures seeking to reduce potential operational stresses on both PRA-regulated firms and Bank-regulated financial market infrastructures to allow them to continue providing crucial functions essential for the economy.