The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK’s financial services regulator, has finalised new transaction reporting rules that will strip out duplicative requirements and deliver annual savings of more than £100m for firms.
The reforms are intended to make reporting smarter, simpler and more proportionate, while preserving the quality of the data the regulator depends on. Transaction reports underpin the FCA’s work to detect and investigate market abuse, keep watch on how markets are functioning and supervise firms.
Among the headline changes, the number of transaction reporting fields will fall from 65 to 52. Foreign exchange derivatives will no longer need to be reported, easing costs for more than 400 firms, and reporting obligations will be dropped for 7 million financial instruments, including equities, bonds and certain derivatives traded solely on EU venues, a move expected to save roughly £32m each year. The window for correcting historical reporting errors will also shrink from five years to three, cutting the volume of resubmitted reports by a third.
The rules come into force on 3 April 2028, giving firms time to prepare, test and roll out updated systems, though a flexible supervisory approach means those ready earlier can adopt certain changes ahead of the deadline. The FCA said it will keep working with the Bank of England and the Treasury to harmonise transaction and post-trade reporting regulations.
By stripping out low-value reporting, the regulator argues the changes will lighten the compliance load while supporting the growth and competitiveness of UK markets.
FCA joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight Therese Chambers 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.”
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