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7/27/2022

Joint Statement on the UK-U.S. Financial Regulatory Working Group | U.S. Department of the Treasury

Joint Statement on the UK-U.S. Financial Regulatory Working
Group
July 26, 2022

UK and U.S. participants held the sixth meeting of the UK-U.S. Financial Regulatory Working
Group (the Working Group) virtually on 21 July 2022. The Working Group was formed in 2018 to
deepen bilateral regulatory cooperation with a view to the further promotion of financial
stability; investor protection; fair, orderly, and e icient markets; and capital formation in both
jurisdictions.
Participants included o icials and senior sta from HM Treasury and the U.S. Department of
the Treasury, and from UK and U.S. independent regulatory agencies, including the Bank of
England (BOE), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC),
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the O ice of Comptroller of the Currency
(OCC), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). UK and U.S. participants shared
views on issues in their respective areas of responsibility.
The Working Group meeting focused on seven themes: (1) international and bilateral
cooperation, (2) benchmark transition, (3) financial innovation, (4) sustainable finance, (5) nonbank financial intermediation, (6) operational resilience, and (7) cross-border regimes.
At the meeting, participants took stock of market developments since Russiaʼs unprovoked
and unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine. The Working Group also discussed ongoing international
and bilateral cooperation and areas of mutual interest where cooperation can continue to be
strengthened to promote global standards. The Working Group Co-Chairs highlighted their
continued commitment to, and support for, robust financial markets and international
financial regulatory standards that promote financial stability and mitigate unintended
market fragmentation. They also exchanged views on respective international financial sector
priorities at the G7, the G20, the Financial Stability Board (FSB), and the International
Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
Participants discussed risks in the Non-Bank Financial Intermediation (NBFI) sector and
interconnectedness with other financial and non-financial actors. Participants discussed the
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7/27/2022

Joint Statement on the UK-U.S. Financial Regulatory Working Group | U.S. Department of the Treasury

need to take steps toward strengthening the resilience of the sector, including strengthening
liquidity risk management practices and expressed support for future cooperation, including in
relevant international fora, in this regard.
The Working Group also discussed the mutual desire to promote multilateral cooperation
around risk management in global derivatives and banking markets. It also discussed the
importance of minimizing regulatory fragmentation by limiting di erences in the substance
and timing of implementation of international standards that would otherwise disincentivise
market participants from undertaking certain cross-border activities.
On Basel III reforms, participants rea irmed their commitment to the final prudential
standards and reiterated the value of global cooperation in their implementation. Participants
agreed to discuss further when respective authorities bring forward their implementation
proposals.
On the topic of financial innovation, participants reflected on the outcomes of the U.S.-UK
Financial Innovation Partnership meeting in June 2022. This included exchanging views on
crypto-asset regulation and recent market developments, including those in relation to
stablecoins, and the exploration of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). All participants
committed to continued cooperation to support safe financial innovation, as well as to
strengthen regulatory outcomes for stablecoins across jurisdictions. Participants also
considered future opportunities for further discussion on broader crypto-asset regulatory
initiatives. Participants recognised the continued importance of the ongoing partnership on
global financial innovation and acknowledged the importance of both maintaining and further
engaging in multilateral discussions on these topics.
Participants took stock of ongoing e orts in relation to LIBOR transition, the FCAʼs recent
consultation on winding down ʻsyntheticʼ sterling LIBOR and its request seeking views on the
need for any synthetic U.S. dollar LIBOR rates, and the importance of continuing to transition
to robust alternative reference rates across jurisdictions, whilst welcoming the successful
completion of the important end-2021 milestones. They noted the importance of maintaining
a coordinated approach in the lead up to the cessation of remaining USD LIBOR settings at
the end of June 2023.
Participants discussed domestic and international progress made on work relating to
sustainable finance this year and discussed priorities and issues for continued work and
cooperation, both multilaterally and bilaterally. They also provided respective domestic
updates. U.S. participants discussed work undertaken by U.S. agencies, including as outlined in
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Joint Statement on the UK-U.S. Financial Regulatory Working Group | U.S. Department of the Treasury

the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Councilʼs Report on Climate-Related Financial Risk. UK
participants discussed the Climate Biennial Exploratory Scenario and the UK noted the
usefulness of scenario analysis as a tool for supervisory risk assessments and financial
institutions. Participants also discussed Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) data
and ratings providers and provided updates on the development of climate-related financial
disclosures regimes.
UK and U.S. participants also welcomed the progress of the International Sustainability
Standards Board (ISSB) as it develops a global baseline for corporate reporting on
sustainability, noting the importance of interoperability of reporting across di erent
jurisdictional approaches
In addition, participants discussed ongoing cooperation on international e orts to address
climate change issues within the financial sector, including the FSBʼs Roadmap for Addressing
Climate-Related Financial Risk, and the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group and
Sustainable Finance Roadmap.
Participants discussed regulatory approaches to ʻcriticalʼ third-party providers, in particular
those that provide services across borders and across sectors, and noted the need for
financial authorities to understand and manage the financial stability and market confidence
risks that could arise as a result of failure of or disruption at third-party providers.
Participants discussed the value of developing shared, international approaches to identifying
critical services and providers; expectations for their use in the financial sector; and
collaborative methods of assurance, and the importance of promoting cooperation on a
bilateral and multilateral basis between relevant authorities on this issue.
Participants will conduct follow-up work on the above topics and other issues of mutual
interest through bilateral engagement and in multilateral fora ahead of the next Working
Group meeting, which is expected to occur later in 2022.

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