On July 15, 2015, the FCA published final guidance and amended rules on its new competition law powers. The FCA obtained concurrent competition powers for the provision of financial services on April 1, 2015 which allow it to: (i) conduct investigations under the Competition Act 1998 and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; and (ii) carry out market studies and make market investigation references to the Competition and Markets Authority under the Enterprise Act 2002. The finalized guidance clarifies how the FCA intends to use its new competition powers. The final rules, which come into effect from August 1, 2015, impose an obligation on authorized firms to report to the FCA any significant infringement of any applicable competition law.
The Shearman & Sterling client publication on the FCA's Concurrent Competition Powers is available at: http://www.shearman.com/~/media/Files/NewsInsights/Publications/2015/07/FCAs-Concurrent-Competition-Powers-Final-Guidance-and-Handbook-Amendments-Are-Published-AT-071515.pdf.
The FCA Policy Statement, including final rules, is available at: http://www.fca.org.uk/static/documents/policy-statements/ps15-18.pdf , the final guidance on the FCA's powers and procedures under the Competition Act 1998 is available at: http://www.fca.org.uk/static/documents/finalised-guidance/fg15-08.pdf and the final guidance on the FCA's market studies and market investigations references functions is available at: http://www.fca.org.uk/static/documents/finalised-guidance/fg15-09.pdf.
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