Issuers to classify regulatory announcements from 1 October
The Financial Conduct Authority has confirmed that it will amend DTR 6.2 so that when issuers file regulated information with the FCA, from 1 October 2017 they will need to:
- supply a Legal Entity Identifier. An LEI is a 20-character reference code to identify legally distinct entities that engage in financial transactions; and
- classify the information according to the legal obligations under which it is disclosed, eg Article 17 Market Abuse Regulation or Articles 4 and 5 (periodic financial information) under the Transparency Directive. If more than one classification is relevant, all must be specified.
The rules were proposed to comply with new regulatory standards to support the European Electronic Access Point (see our briefing).
The rules will not come into effect until 1 October 2017. This is because respondents to the FCA’s consultation felt that the primary information providers and issuers needed at least six months to make the necessary preparations.
The FCA is encouraging issuers to comply with the new rules as soon as possible. However, until the rules come into force, there is no obligation to provide a LEI or classify the information when making regulatory announcements.