FCA finalises reforms to UK transaction reporting regime

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed reforms to the UK transaction reporting regime, which it said would cut firms’ costs by over £100m a year.

The finalised rules have been designed to ensure the FCA receives accurate, high-quality data, while removing duplicative or low-value reporting to reduce regulatory burden and support growth and competitiveness.

It has reduced the number of transaction reporting fields from 65 to 52 and removed foreign exchange derivatives from reporting requirements.

Reporting requirements for seven million financial instruments have been removed, including equities, bonds and certain derivatives that are only traded on EU trading venues, which the regulator said would save firms around £32m annually.

Additionally, the period for correcting historical reporting errors has been cut from five to three years, lowering the number of transaction reports that need to be resubmitted by a third, according to the FCA.

The current annual cost of MiFID transaction reporting to the industry is £493m, with the FCA estimating the changes will reduce the cost to around £385m.

The reforms will take effect from 3 April 2028, aiming to give firms time to prepare and implement updated reporting systems, although firms that are ready to make certain changes sooner can do so.

The FCA said it will continue working with the Bank of England and the Treasury to harmonise transaction and post-trade reporting regulations.

“Transaction reports are the backbone of our market oversight work – they help us catch financial crime, monitor market stability and supervise firms effectively,” said FCA joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, Therese Chambers.

“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.”

PIMFA senior policy adviser, Maria Fritzsche, commented: “We welcome the FCA's efforts to simplify the UK transaction reporting regime and reduce unnecessary complexity for firms.

“In particular, the expansion of the corporate actions exemption, the move to make FCA FIRDS the golden source for determining reportability, and the reduction in back reporting requirements should deliver meaningful operational benefits for wealth managers and financial advisers.

“Together, these changes represent a more proportionate and practical approach to transaction reporting while continuing to support effective market oversight."

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