New rules finalised by the FCA today will make transaction reporting requirements smarter, simpler and more proportionate while saving firms more than £100m a year, the regulator said.
It said transaction reports are critical to its ability to detect and investigate market abuse, monitor market functioning and supervise firms effectively.
The new rules will come into effect in 2028 and are designed to ensure the FCA continues to receive accurate, high-quality data while eliminating duplicative or low-value reporting. By removing unnecessary reporting the changes will reduce regulatory burden and support growth and competitiveness, it said.
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said: “Transaction reports are the backbone of our market oversight work – they help us catch financial crime, monitor market stability and supervise firms effectively.
“By taking a smarter, streamlined approach to reporting, we're giving firms meaningful cost relief while ensuring we continue to receive the accurate, high-quality data that keeps UK markets clean and competitive.”
Key changes include:
• Reducing the number of transaction reporting fields from 65 to 52.
• Removing foreign exchange derivatives from reporting requirements, reducing costs for more than 400 firms.
• Removing reporting requirements for 7m financial instruments including equities, bonds and certain derivatives that are only traded on EU trading venues. This will save firms approximately £32m annually, the FCA claimed.
• Reducing the period for correcting historical reporting errors from five to three years, lowering the number of transaction reports that need to be resubmitted by a third.
The changes will take effect on 3 April 2028, giving firms time to prepare, test and implement updated reporting systems. However, a flexible supervisory approach will allow firms that are ready to make certain changes sooner.
The FCA said it will continue working closely with the Bank of England and the Treasury to harmonise transaction and post-trade reporting regulations.
Last year the FCA fined firms about £14.4m for transaction reporting failures and control weaknesses.