Your guide to this week in regulation

This week, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) seeks to strengthen consumer protections in the growing self-invested person pension (SIPP) market through a substantial consultation. Against the general tide of regulatory simplification, this includes the introduction of a Pension Scheme Money and Assets (PSM&A) regime (aligned with the well-established ‘CASS’ regime) in recognition of existing unintended legislative gaps and market inconsistencies.

Meanwhile, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has published its 2025/26 annual data, showing complaint volumes returning to historical levels; although the sharp rise in vulnerable consumers recorded, from 10% to 25% of cases, is a signal that firms and regulators should not ignore.

Elsewhere, in a notable step forward for market transparency and competitiveness, UK capital markets see the launch of the bond consolidated tape; the first real-time, single source of prices and trading activity across the UK bond market.

We conclude this week with recently published findings from the 2025 CCP Global International Default Simulation, coordinated across 38 central counterparties and five regulators including the Bank of England. The report sets out areas for improvement in the development of central counterparties’ (CCPs’) default management processes.

SIPP standards consultation

The FCA has launched consultation paper CP26/20, setting out proposals to raise standards in the self-invested personal pension (SIPP) market. The SIPP market has grown substantially, with assets under administration of approximately £567 billion across 5.3 million consumers in 2024. While most operators meet expectations, the FCA has found historic cases of poor due diligence, weak record keeping and gaps in how firms protect pension money and assets.

The proposals focus on two areas of greatest risk:

clearer and more consistent due diligence standards for all SIPP operators, including core checks on all relevant third parties and additional checks for higher-risk or overseas investments
stronger requirements for handling pension scheme money and assets in structures using unauthorised trustees, where current client asset rules do not apply
The changes aim to protect consumers from fraud while maintaining the flexibility and broad investment choice that SIPPs offer. SIPP operators should review the consultation and assess the operational impact of the proposed requirements. Responses are due by 24 August 2026.

Read more on FCA SIPP market consultation

Read more on FCA CP26/20

FOS resolves 224,000 cases

The FOS resolved more than 224,000 complaints in 2025/26, as case volumes returned to historical levels following an exceptional prior year driven by motor finance and credit card complaints. New complaints received fell to 214,600, a 30% reduction on the 305,700 received in 2024/25.

Hire purchase (motor) remained the most complained about product for the full year with 37,700 complaints. Current accounts, with fraud and scams as the primary driver, overtook motor finance in the second half of the year. The uphold rate fell to 30%, down from 34%. The FOS also recorded a rise in consumers recorded as vulnerable, increasing from 10% in 2024/25 to 25% in 2025/26. Withdrawn and abandoned complaints from professional representatives fell sharply, from 35% to 18%, following the introduction of a new charging model.

Firms should use FOS data to identify complaint root causes and take early action to prevent escalation. The FOS is currently working with the FCA and government on a broader programme of redress modernisation.

Read more on Financial Ombudsman annual data 2025/26

Bond consolidated tape launches

The UK bond consolidated tape (CT) launched on 22 June 2026. For the first time, investors and market participants can access a single, real-time source of prices and trading data across UK bond markets. Until now, post-trade data was fragmented across multiple trading venues and publication arrangements.

The tape aggregates data from all UK trading venues and Approved Publication Arrangements into one standardised stream, available to all participants on equal terms. It launched with 98% coverage by notional trade value. The FCA will supervise to ensure data quality and reliability. Following transparency rule changes in December 2025, the share of corporate bond trades reported in real time rose from under 5% to over 75%.

Firms that trade or invest in bonds should review their data workflows and begin onboarding to the tape. The FCA is also considering an equity and exchange-traded fund tape.

Read more from FCA on investors getting real-time view of UK bond market activity 

Read more from FCA on bond consolidated tape

CCP default simulation findings

In November 2025, 38 central counterparties (CCPs) worldwide conducted the largest CCP Global International Default Simulation (CIDS) to date, up from 32 CCPs in 2023. The exercise simulated the simultaneous default of a hypothetical common clearing member across a wide range of asset classes, including interest rate swaps, credit default swaps, equities, commodities and FX.

Five regulatory Lead Authorities, the Bank of England, BaFin, Bundesbank, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), monitored the exercise and have now published their findings. The report identifies areas for development in CCPs' default management processes, with the aim of informing both firms' practices and the design of future exercises.

CCPs, clearing members and their clients should review the report's observations and assess whether their own default management procedures and testing frameworks reflect the identified areas for improvement.

Read more on 2025 CCP Global International Default Simulation findings