Welcome to the March 2026 edition of the Freshfields FS Insights newsletter, which contains a selection of thought leadership related to the financial services industry published over the past month by Freshfields lawyers from around the world, as well as upcoming dates for your diary. If you would like more information regarding any of these developments, please get in touch with your usual Freshfields contact.
This month’s edition includes the following topics:
- The year ahead in financial services
- ESG and sustainability
- Cryptoassets
- AI in retail financial services
- Consumer Composite Investments
- Appointed representatives and funds
- Anti-money laundering
- Private equity in insurance
- Dates for your diary
The year ahead in financial services
Outlook – EU financial services regulation in 2026
The year 2025 marked a turning point, at least in atmospheric terms, in financial services regulation in the EU. For the first time since the financial crisis in 2007/2008, the key political and regulatory decision-makers have changed course by questioning the sense behind ever tighter and deeper regulation. Our briefing provides an overview of the key developments in financial services regulation in the EU, Germany and Austria in 2026, focusing on the areas of banking, securities, market infrastructure and payment services supervision, consumer credit law, as well as anti-money laundering, digitalisation and sustainability.
ESG and sustainability
ESG regulation and litigation in 2026: what to expect for UK financial institutions
ESG and sustainable finance matters will be the subject of renewed focus this year for UK financial institutions. This focus will be driven in part by the financial regulators’ desire to increase growth, as by the way in which firms are reconsidering their sustainability objectives, and in some cases refining or adjusting them, and by the continued and increasing threat of climate-related litigation. Our blog post provides an update on trends, outlines key recent developments and considers what is likely to shape 2026.
Navigating the UK’s new sustainability disclosure proposals for listed companies
The FCA has launched its anticipated consultation on a proposed UK Listing Rule to implement the updated and expanded UK sustainability reporting standards (UK SRS). The objective of the rule is to align sustainability reporting by listed companies with the global baseline set by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), and with investor demand for relevant and robust disclosures. Our blog post outlines who would be in scope if the proposals are implemented, what would change, how the UK’s proposals compare internationally, and what companies should be doing now to prepare.
Navigating the green wave: Austria's transposition of the CSRD and the Sustainability Omnibus Package
The Austrian Sustainability Reporting Act (Nachhaltigkeitsberichtsgesetz, NaBeG), which transposes the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and parts of the EU Sustainability Omnibus Package (Omnibus I), recently entered into force. Our blog post provides an overview of Austria’s NaBeG and outlines key considerations for businesses as the Austrian sustainability reporting framework evolves.
Cryptoassets
Crypto, regulated: unpacking the UK's new cryptoasset statutory instrument
The UK has taken a decisive step toward comprehensive cryptoassets regulation. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026, which were made on 4 February 2026, will bring various cryptoasset activities within the UK regulatory perimeter for the first time. In this blog post, we consider the nine new regulated activities, their territorial scope, the new designated activities regime for public offers and market abuse, and the transitional provisions for market participants.
Reading between the lines: notable policy choices in the FCA's latest cryptoasset proposals
While the Cryptoasset Regulations establish the legislative framework, they will be supplemented by additional FCA rules, which the FCA will consult on over the course of 2026. The FCA has already published a number of consultation papers setting out how the future regime is expected to operate at a more granular level. While the FCA's most recent proposals contain much that was expected, some of the most consequential details lie in the policy choices that weren't headline news. In this blog post, we highlight four notable policy choices across the FCA’s latest proposals and the questions they raise for firms planning their UK strategy.
Rules of engagement: assessing the FCA’s proposed conduct rules for crypto trading platforms, intermediaries and other novel crypto activities
CP25/40 sets out the FCA’s proposed conduct framework for firms undertaking various cryptoasset activities including those involving cryptoasset trading platform (CATPs), intermediaries (i.e. firms dealing or arranging transactions in qualifying cryptoassets), lending, borrowing and staking. These activities were not covered in any detail as part of the FCA’s earlier consultation papers, which addressed stablecoin issuance and custody and the prudential regime for cryptoasset firms. In our blog post, we assess the key proposals and explore what they mean for firms positioning themselves within the UK’s emerging cryptoasset perimeter.
AI in retail financial services
The FCA looks to 2030: key takeaways from the Mills Review
In January 2026, the FCA launched the Mills Review into the long-term impact of AI on retail financial services. The Review looks beyond current use cases to explore how increasingly advanced and interconnected AI systems could reshape market structure, firms’ operations, consumer trends and regulatory approaches by 2030 and beyond. In our briefing, we set out our perspective on the most significant – and in some cases under-explored – themes emerging from the Engagement Paper published as part of the Review, focusing on what the Review reveals about the FCA’s current thinking and regulatory direction and what it may mean in practice for firms in the retail financial services space.
Consumer Composite Investments
FCA publishes its final rules for CCIs
The FCA has published its final rules for providing information on Consumer Composite Investments (CCIs). The new CCI regime will replace the Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products (PRIIPs) and Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) disclosure requirements with a single framework tailored for the UK market. For more information, see our blog post, in which we outline some of the key changes to the regime.
Appointed representatives and funds
Treasury consults on reforming the appointed representatives regime: what fund service providers need to know
In February 2026, HM Treasury published a consultation paper proposing changes to the UK's appointed representatives (ARs) regime — the framework allowing firms to carry on certain regulated activities without direct FCA authorisation, by operating under an authorised "principal" firm's licence. In the fund world, the regime underpins the "regulatory hosting" model, where specialist providers appoint placement agents, capital raisers and fund advisers as ARs, enabling them to market funds, build investor relationships and arrange subscriptions without their own FCA authorisation. As set out in our blog post, the consultation proposes three reforms: a new principal permission gateway, expanded FOS jurisdiction, and bringing ARs within the Senior Managers and Certification Regime. Fund sector participants should start thinking now about what these changes could mean for them.
Anti-money laundering
The ECJ’s latest decision on corporate fines under the AML Directive – same same, but different?
On 29 January 2026, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decided that corporate fines for violations of national laws implementing the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD) can be imposed against a legal entity without requiring a prior attribution of misconduct by a natural person. This is a significant development, as it solidifies a major shift away from the traditional approach in member states like Germany and Austria, where corporate liability often hinged on individual wrongdoing. In our blog post, we analyse the ECJ’s case law and outline key strategic considerations for businesses.
Private equity in insurance
EIOPA signals a new era of scrutiny
Private equity has become an increasingly important part of the European insurance market, particularly in life, run‑off and capital‑intensive lines. Against that backdrop, EIOPA has published for consultation a draft supervisory statement on the authorisation and ongoing supervision of (re)insurance undertakings related to private equity. Although many of the themes will be familiar to firms that have already navigated PE‑backed insurance deals, this is the first time EIOPA has set out in a single, detailed document how it expects EU regulators to approach these structures. As we note in our blog post, if adopted broadly as drafted, the statement is likely to raise the bar for regulatory engagement on PE‑backed acquisitions and increase the supervisory expectations on PE‑owned (re)insurers throughout the investment lifecycle.
Dates for your diary
Listed Company Roundtable: Activism
Our next Listed Company Roundtable will take place at 100 Bishopsgate on Tuesday 10 March 2026 at 9-10.30am, with breakfast from 8.30am.
With the UK remaining a primary target for activism in Europe and greater numbers of traditional investors adopting activist tactics, it is as important as ever for UK listed companies to focus on activism-preparedness. This session will focus on practical and legal guidance for listed companies to stay on the front foot when facing the strategic challenges and opportunities presented by shareholder activism.
At this session we will cover the following:
- MAR and strategic disclosure in an activist context: navigating inside information and disclosure obligations, and an update on FCA focus areas on UK MAR.
- Directors’ duties, governance and remuneration: governance considerations when faced with an activist together with the latest on director remuneration – a potentially soft target for activist investors.
- Proactive preparedness - knowing your register: tools for shareholder identification and approaches to stakebuilding.
If you would like to attend this event, please contact Jane Huckle.