Regulatory Forward Look 2025

Consumer Duty, Market Competitiveness, and Decoupling from Europe set to dominate regulatory Agenda for 2025

Mike Booth, Charlene Fletcher and Rahmin Rugsataya take you through the big moves expected in UK regulatory compliance in 2025.

Growth is a political priority for the Labour government, who enter 2025 with renewed pressure to stimulate the economy. And in the UK’s finance-dominated, capital markets-heavy economy, financial regulation is expected to be a central tenet of pro-growth policies.

The FCA’s overhaul of the UK Listing Regime - the biggest in four decades - launched soon after Labour’s election win last year to “foster increased growth and innovation” in UK markets. In 2025, stakeholders can expect more of the same. The watchdog is consulting on a new regime for the sale and exchange of unlisted shares. Potential reforms, the regulator says, could boost liquidity for smaller, non-listed companies. Nearly a decade after the referendum, decoupling from EU financial rules is taking shape, including reforms to MiFID (rules governing financial markets) and PRIIPs (requirements for key information disclosure to retail investors) expected to land in 2025.

In a year of great potential change, the FCA’s renewed focus on the Consumer Duty stays the same. The regulator issued two pieces of guidance in December 2024 and is expected to continue to attempt to drive good conduct through detailed guidance in 2025. The Authority enters its final year of its three-year-long “Business Plan”, where it looks to cap off reforms to boost market integrity and protecting consumers.

Mike Booth, Charlene Fletcher and Rahmin Rugsataya take you through the big moves expected in UK regulatory compliance in 2025.