The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Ring-fenced Bodies, Core Activities, Excluded Activities and Prohibitions) (Amendment) Order 2025

Amendments to Part 2: circumstances in which accepting a deposit is not a core activity

4.—(1) In article 2 (circumstances in which accepting a deposit is not a core activity)—

(a) in paragraph (2)—

(i) in the opening words, omit “or an EEA account”;

(ii) after sub-paragraph (a), insert—

“(aa) an SME which is—

(i) an investment firm,

(ii) a UCITS or an alternative investment fund,

(iii) a management company or an alternative investment fund manager, or

(iv) a financial holding company or a mixed financial holding company,

and for these purposes, “UCITS”, “alternative investment fund”, “management company”, “alternative investment fund manager”, “financial holding company” and “mixed financial holding company” have the meanings given in article 1(4) of the excluded activities and prohibitions order;”;

(iii) at the end of sub-paragraph (d), omit “or”;

(iv) after sub-paragraph (e), insert—

“(f) the central bank of a state or territory other than the United Kingdom;

(g) the European Central Bank;

(h) the European Union;

(i) the European Atomic Energy Community;

(j) the Bank for International Settlements;

(k) the Bank of England Asset Purchase Facility Fund Limited;

(l) the Covid Corporate Financing Facility Limited; or

(m) the UK Infrastructure Bank Limited.”;

(b) in paragraph (3), omit sub-paragraph (b);

(c) after paragraph (3), insert—

“(4) A UK deposit-taker may continue to treat an account holder of that UK deposit-taker as a relevant financial institution for the purposes of this article—

(a) for a period of twelve months beginning with the day after the day on which the account holder ceases to satisfy the definition of a relevant financial institution (“the twelve-month period”), or

(b) until the date on which the account holder ceases to be an account holder of that UK deposit-taker, where this happens before the end of the twelve-month period.”.

(2) In article 3 (meaning of qualifying organisation), omit paragraph (3).

(3) In article 8 (meaning of qualifying group member), omit paragraphs (2) and (3).