On March 16, 2016, The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Order 2016 was made. The Order amends legislation relating to the regulation of activities connected with lending. The Order extends the scope of regulated activities for certain types of activities which previously did not qualify as a regulated activity and, for the purpose of the Financial Services and Markets Act, are now deemed a regulated activity. For example, it provides amendments to the regulated activity of operating electronic systems in relation to lending. The amendment states that the activity is regulated whether or not the operation collects interest under the lending agreement, and where a person carrying on that activity, facilitating another person transferring their rights under an agreement to a third party, is a regulated activity. The Order also serves partly to implement the Mortgage Credit Directive Order. For example, the Order extends the scope of the regulated activities of arranging and advising on regulated mortgage contracts so that mortgages entered into before October 31, 2004 (which are regulated as consumer credit agreements before March 21, 2016) are included within the activities from that date. The Order came into force on March 17, 2016.
The Order is available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/392/pdfs/uksi_20160392_en.pdf.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.