The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Disclosure of Confidential Information) Regulations 2001

These Regulations may be cited as the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Disclosure of Confidential Information) Regulations 2001 and come into force on 18th June 2001.

In these Regulations—

• F1ACER” means the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators established by Regulation (EC) No. 713/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 establishing an Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators

• “the Act" means the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000;

• F2...

• F3“competent authority” includes a supervisory authority within the meaning of Article 13(10) of the Solvency 2 Directive;

• F4“conglomerates directive” means Directive 2002/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16th December 2002 on the supplementary supervision of credit institutions, insurance undertakings and investment firms in a financial conglomerate and amending Council Directives 73/239/EEC, 79/267/EEC, 92/49/EEC, 92/96/EEC, 93/6/EEC, 93/22/EEC, and Directives 98/78/EC and 2000/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council F5as last amended by Directive 2011/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council;

• “criminal investigation" means an investigation of any crime, including an investigation of any alleged or suspected crime and an investigation of whether a crime has been committed;

• “dependent territory" means the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and any territory outside the British Islands for whose external relations the United Kingdom is responsible;

• “dependent territory regulatory authority" means an overseas regulatory authority which exercises its functions in, and in relation to, a dependent territory;

• F6...

• “disciplinary proceedings authority" means a person responsible for initiating prescribed disciplinary proceedings or determining the outcome of such proceedings;

• “EEA competent authority" means a competent authority of an EEA state other than the United Kingdom for the purposes of any of the single market directives F7, the EMIR regulation F8... F9, the SFT regulation F10, the CSD regulation or the PRIIPs regulation F11... F12...;

• “EEA regulatory authority" means an EEA competent authority or an overseas regulatory authority which exercises its functions in, and in relation to, an EEA State other than the United Kingdom;

• F13“EEA resolution authority” means an authority designated by another EEA state in accordance with Article 3 of the recovery and resolution directive;

• F14EMIR information” means confidential information received by one of the regulators in the course of discharging its functions as a competent authority under the EMIR regulation;

• F14“the EMIR regulation” means Regulation (EU) 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories;

• F15“ESRB” means the European Systemic Risk Board established by Regulation (EU) No. 1092/2010 of the European Parliament and the Council of 24 November 2010 on European Union macro-prudential oversight of the financial system and establishing a European Systemic Risk Board;

• F15“ESAs” means the European Supervisory Authorities established by Regulation (EU) No. 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority), Regulation (EU) No. 1094/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) and Regulation (EU) No. 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority);

• F16“EU Benchmarks Regulation 2016” means Regulation EU 2016/1011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on indices used as benchmarks in financial instruments and financial contracts or to measure the performance of investment funds and amending Directives 2008/48/EC and 2014/17/EU and Regulation (EU) No 596/2014;

• F16“EU Benchmarks Regulation 2016 information” means information received by the FCA in the course of discharging its functions as a competent authority under the EU Benchmarks Regulation 2016;

• F13“foreign resolution authority” means an authority in a territory which is not, and does not form part of, an EEA state which exercises functions in relation to third-country resolution action (within the meaning of section 89H of the Banking Act 2009), including planning for such action, corresponding to one or more functions exercisable by an EU resolution authority pursuant to the recovery and resolution directive;

• “former regulated activities" means activities carried on before the coming into force of section 19 of the Act and which constitute—

  1. (a)

     investment business within the meaning of the Financial Services Act 1986 M3;

  2. (b)

     deposit-taking business within the meaning of the Banking Act 1987 M4;

  3. (c)

     insurance business within the meaning of the Insurance Companies Act 1982 M5; or

  4. (d)

     insurance business within the meaning of the Friendly Societies Act 1992 M6;

• “former regulated person" means a person who, at any time before the coming into force of section 19 of the Act, was—

  1. (a)

     authorised under section 3 or 4 of the Insurance Companies Act 1982;

  2. (b)

     an authorised person within the meaning of the Financial Services Act 1986, or an appointed representative within the meaning of section 44 M7 (appointed representatives) of that Act;

  3. (c)

     an authorised institution within the meaning of the Banking Act 1987;

  4. (d)

     a European institution within the meaning of the Banking Coordination (Second Council Directive) Regulations 1992 M8;

  5. (e)

     a European investment firm within the meaning of the Investment Services Regulations 1995 M9;

  6. (f)

     an EC company within the meaning of the Insurance Companies Act 1982 able to carry on direct insurance business through a branch in the United Kingdom, or provide insurance in the United Kingdom by virtue of paragraph 1 or 8 of Schedule 2F to that Act M10;

  7. (g)

     a friendly society authorised or treated as authorised for the purposes of Part IV of the Friendly Societies Act 1992, or permitted by virtue of section 31(2) or (3) of that Act to carry on activities without authorisation under that Part; or

  8. (h)

     a building society authorised or treated as authorised for the purposes of the Building Societies Act 1986 M11;

• F17...

• F18“markets in financial instruments directive F19and the markets in financial instruments regulation information” means confidential information received by the F20FCA or the PRA in the course of discharging its functions as an EEA competent authority under the markets in financial instruments directive F21or its functions in relation to the supervision of investment firms under F22the capital requirements directive;

• F23“mortgages directive information” means confidential information received by the FCA or the PRA in the course of discharging its functions as a competent authority under the mortgages directive;

• F12...

• “non-EEA regulatory authority" means an overseas regulatory authority other than an EEA regulatory authority or a dependent territory regulatory authority;

• “overseas regulatory authority" means—

  1. (a)

     an authority in a country or territory outside the United Kingdom which exercises any function of a kind mentioned in section 195(4) of the Act; or

  2. (b)

     an overseas investment exchange F24, overseas clearing house, EEA central counterparty (within the meaning of section 285(1)(c) of the Act) F25, third country central counterparty (within the meaning of section 285(1)(d) of the Act), EEA CSD (within the meaning of section 285(1)(f) of the Act) or third country CSD (within the meaning of section 285(1)(g) of the Act);

• “prescribed disciplinary proceedings" means the disciplinary proceedings prescribed in Schedule 3;

• F13“recovery and resolution directive” means Directive 2014/59/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15th May 2014 establishing a framework for the recovery and resolution of credit institutions and investment firms;

• F13“recovery and resolution directive information” means confidential information received by—

  1. (a)

     the Bank of England in the course of discharging its functions as a resolution authority under the recovery and resolution directive;

  2. (b)

     the FCA or PRA in the course of discharging their functions as competent authorities under the recovery and resolution directive;

  3. (c)

     a person appointed by the Bank of England under section 62B (resolution administrator) of the Banking Act 2009 to act as resolution administrator in the course of discharging that person's functions as such;

• F26“regulators” means the FCA, the PRA and the Bank of England, and “regulator” means any one of the regulators;

• F26“regulator worker” means—

  1. (a)

     a person who is or has been employed by one of the regulators; or

  2. (b)

     an auditor or expert instructed by one of the regulators;

• “Secretary of State worker" means—

  1. (a)

     a person who is or has been employed by the Secretary of State; or

  2. (b)

     an auditor or expert instructed by the Secretary of State;

• F27“SFTR information” means confidential information received by a regulator in the course of discharging its functions as a competent authority under the SFT regulation;

• F28“short selling regulation information” means confidential information received by the F29FCA in the course of discharging its functions as a competent authority under the short selling regulation;

• F30“single market information” means confidential information received by the F31FCA or the PRA in the course of discharging its functions as the competent authority under any of the single market directives except for the market in financial instruments directive F32, the markets in financial instruments regulation or the conglomerates directive and as the competent authority under Regulation (EU) No. 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority), Regulation (EU) No. 1094/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) and Regulation (EU) No. 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority) and article 8 of Regulation (EU) No. 1092/2010 of the European Parliament and the Council of 24 November 2010 on European Union macro-prudential oversight of the financial system and establishing a European Systemic Risk Board;

• F33“single market restrictions” means the restrictions imposed on the disclosure of information by—

  1. (a)

     articles F3476 and 81 of the markets in financial instruments directive;

  2. (b)

     F35section 2 of Chapter 1 of Title 7 of the capital requirements directive

  3. (c)

     F36articles 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, and 70 of the Solvency 2 Directive;

  4. (f)

     article 102 F37and 104a.1 of the UCITS directive;

  5. (g)

     article 9 of the insurance mediation directive;

  6. (ga)

     F38articles 47.2, 47.3, 51, 52 and 53.2 of the alternative investment fund managers directive;

  7. (gb)

     F39Articles 5(2) and 36 of the mortgages directive;

  8. (h)

     article 70 of Regulation (EU) No. 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority);

  9. (i)

     article 70 of Regulation (EU) No. 1094/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority);

  10. (j)

      article 70 of Regulation (EU) No. 1095/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority); F40...

  11. (k)

      article 8 of Regulation (EU) No. 1092/2010 of the European Parliament and the Council of 24 November 2010 on European Union macro-prudential oversight of the financial system and establishing a European Systemic Risk Board F41; F42...

  12. (l)

      article 83 of the EMIR regulation;

  13. (m)

      F43articles 84 and 98 of the recovery and resolution directive F44; F45... F46and

  14. (n)

      F47...

  15. (o)

      F48article 18 of the SFT regulation;

• F49F50"the third non-life insurance directive" has the meaning given to it by paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 to the Act;

• F51UCITS directive information” means confidential information received by the Authority in the course of discharging its functions as an EEA competent authority under the UCITS directive.

• F52...

• F52...

A primary recipient of confidential information, or a person receiving such information directly or indirectly from a primary recipient, is permitted to disclose such information in pursuance of F64an EU obligation.

Where confidential information is disclosed under these Regulations to a person other than F65the FCA, the PRA,, the Secretary of State, the Treasury or the Bank of England, and the disclosure is made subject to any conditions as to the use to which the information may be put, the person to whom the information has been disclosed may not use the information in breach of any such condition, without the consent of the person who disclosed it to him.

A person specified in the first column in Schedule 1 is permitted to disclose information to which this Part applies for the purpose of enabling or assisting him to discharge any of the functions listed beside him in that Schedule.

The F139Gambling Commission may disclose information to which this Part applies to F140the Comptroller and Auditor General for the purpose of enabling or assisting the Comptroller and Auditor General to carry out an examination under Part II of the National Audit Act 1983 in relation to the Commission.

F142The FCA or the PRA may disclose information to which this Part applies for the purpose of publishing that information in accordance with regulation 10(8) of the Electronic Commerce Directive (Financial Services and Markets) Regulations 2002.

A primary recipient of information to which this Part applies, or a person obtaining such information directly or indirectly from a primary recipient is permitted to disclose such information to any person for the purposes of any proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 which have been or may be initiated.

In this Part—

• F144“the Authority” means the Financial Services Authority;

• “pre-commencement information" means information which is subject to restrictions (with or without qualifications or exceptions) on disclosure by virtue of a pre-commencement provision;

• “pre-commencement provision" means—

  1. (a)

     any provision in—

     1. (i)

        Schedule 2B to the Insurance Companies Act 1982 M25;

     2. (ii)

        Part VIII of the Financial Services Act 1986 M26;

     3. (iii)

        Part V of the Banking Act 1987 M27; or

     4. (iv)

        SRO rules;

     which imposes restrictions on the disclosure of information, or creates exceptions or qualifications to such restrictions; or

  2. (b)

     regulation 48 of the Investment Services Regulations 1995 M28;

• “recognised self-regulating organisation" means a body which immediately before the coming into force of section 348 of the Act was a recognised self-regulating organisation within the meaning of section 8(1) of the Financial Services Act 1986, or a recognised self-regulating organisation for friendly societies within the meaning of Schedule 11 to that Act;

• “SRO rules" means the rules of a recognised self-regulating organisation;

• “transitional information" means information which immediately before the coming into force of section 19 of the Act was subject to restrictions on disclosure by virtue of a pre-commencement provision.

If a recognised self-regulating organisation discloses any information to the Authority for the purpose of enabling or assisting the Authority to discharge functions corresponding to functions of the organisation, the disclosure is not to be taken as a contravention of any duty to which the organisation is subject.

In these Regulations confidential information received by the Authority in the course of discharging its functions as an EEA competent authority under Council Directive 93/22/EEC of 10th May 1993 on investment services in the securities field shall be deemed to have been received by the Authority in the course of discharging its functions as an EEA competent authority under the markets in financial instruments directive.