FCA announces opening of notification window for temporary permissions regime

In line with earlier announcements, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today says that the notification window for the temporary permissions regime is now open.

Firms will have to notify the regulator that they wish to enter the temporary permissions regime using the FCA Connect system. Fund managers will also need to notify the FCA of which of their passported funds they wish to continue to market in the UK temporarily via Connect.

The notification window opens today (January 7, 2019) and closes on March 28, 2019.

The temporary permissions regime is set to allow EEA-based firms currently passporting into the UK to continue new and existing regulated business within the scope of their current permissions in the UK for a limited period, while they seek full FCA authorisation, if the UK leaves the EU on exit day without an implementation period in place. It will also allow EEA-domiciled investment funds that market in the UK under a passport to continue temporarily marketing in the UK.

The FCA warns that firms that have not submitted a notification will not be able to use the regime.

Once the notification window has closed, fund managers that have not submitted a notification for a fund will be unable to use the temporary permissions marketing regime for that fund. They will not be able to continue marketing that fund in the UK on the same basis as they did before exit day. The only exception to this is for new sub-funds of EEA UCITS that are in the temporary permissions marketing regime on exit day. It is possible for such new sub-funds to enter the temporary permissions marketing regime after exit day.

More than 1,300 firms and funds have expressed interest in the proposed temporary permissions regime (TPR), Nausicaa Delfas, Executive Director of International, and a member of the Executive Committee at the FCA, said in a recent speech.