New FCA rules to save firms over £100m a year

The FCA has finalised new rules which aim to make transaction reporting requirements "smarter, simpler and more proportionate".

Transaction reports help the regulator to detect and investigate market abuse, monitor market functioning and supervise firms effectively.

The new rules are designed to ensure the FCA continues to receive accurate, high-quality data while eliminating duplicative or low-value reporting. By removing unnecessary reporting, the changes will reduce regulatory burden and support growth and competitiveness and save firms more than £100m a year.

Key changes include reducing the number of transaction reporting fields from 65 to 52 and removing foreign exchange derivatives from reporting requirements, reducing costs for over 400 firms.

The changes will also reduce the period for correcting historical reporting errors from five to three years, lowering the number of transaction reports that need to be resubmitted by a third.

The changes will take effect on 3rd April 2028, giving firms adequate time to prepare, test and implement updated reporting systems. However, a flexible supervisory approach will allow firms that are ready to make certain changes sooner.

Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: "Transaction reports are the backbone of our market oversight work — they help us catch financial crime, monitor market stability and supervise firms effectively.

“By taking a smarter, streamlined approach to reporting, we're giving firms meaningful cost relief while ensuring we continue to receive the accurate, high-quality data that keeps UK markets clean and competitive.”