UK plans to reverse EU-era securities rule ban, Bloomberg reports

Jul 6 (Reuters) – Britain’s Chancellor of Finance Jeremy Hunt plans to repeal a European Union-era law that required financial firms to separate the cost of investment research from business expenses, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday .

The country’s Ministry of Finance had announced last year a series of financial measures to reinforce the role of the City of London as a global financial centre. The measures included a review of EU-era stock and bond trading requirements known as MiFID II and a rule requiring brokers to itemize or “unbundle” their clients’ charges to research stock selections and to execute action orders.

Hunt is set to announce the plan in his Mansion House speech on Monday, according to the report, adding that he must also disclose the insurers’ commitment to invest billions of pounds in start-ups and infrastructure projects.

The move is aimed at strengthening the attractiveness of the UK financial services sector and is a key recommendation from a review of investment research by lawyer Rachel Kent, the report said, citing two people familiar with the review. Kent.

The UK Treasury did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Last year, the UK announced the launch of the Investment Research Review, an independent review of financial services investment research and its contribution to the competitiveness of UK capital markets, led by Rachel Kent, a veteran services lawyer. Hogan Lovells financiers.

The review, which was set up to examine the link between research levels and the UK’s attractiveness as a destination for companies to access capital, both in the public and private markets, ran until last month.

Britain has been dealing with the aftershocks of Brexit, the pandemic and rising gasoline prices brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The country has avoided a widely anticipated recession so far this year.

Reporting by Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru Editing by Matthew Lewis

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