The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025
These regulations amend various pieces of UK primary and secondary legislation as well as assimilated European Union law to reflect the replacement of the Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) Regulations 2014 with the Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures Regulations 2025.
The changes update references to the older regulations across various acts and orders to ensure consistency and legal clarity within the financial regulatory framework; the amendments come into effect on November 30, 2025.
An impact assessment was deemed unnecessary.
Arguments For
Streamlined Regulatory Framework: The amendments adjust existing legislation to reflect the updated Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures Regulations 2025, creating a more coherent and efficient regulatory environment.
Consistency and Clarity: The changes ensure consistency across various legal instruments by replacing outdated references to the revoked 2014 regulations with updated references to the 2025 regulations, enhancing clarity and reducing ambiguity for regulated entities.
Reduced Compliance Burden: By consolidating and clarifying legal provisions, the regulations can potentially lessen the burden on financial institutions in interpreting and implementing regulatory requirements.
Legal Certainty: Updating legal references resolves potential conflicts or uncertainty arising from the revocation of previous legislation, providing legal certainty for the financial sector and promoting regulatory stability.
Arguments Against
Potential for Unintended Consequences: Despite careful drafting, amending multiple legal instruments simultaneously carries a risk of creating unintended consequences or overlooking specific provisions within the affected acts, orders, and regulations.
Implementation Challenges: Successfully implementing these changes requires thorough coordination across various government bodies and the financial industry. Coordinating the updates and ensuring a seamless transition can be complex and time-consuming.
Lack of Comprehensive Impact Assessment: The statement that "no significant impact" is foreseen might not fully capture all potential knock-on effects. A lack of detailed forecasted impact may lead to unforeseen challenges down the line.
Complexity: Navigating the numerous statutory instruments being amended may present difficulties for firms seeking compliance.
The Treasury make these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 83(1) and (2) and 84(2) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 20231.
A draft of these Regulations has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament in accordance with sections 83(3) and 84(3) and (5) of that Act.
The Treasury created these regulations using the authority granted by sections 83(1), (2), and 84(2) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023.
A draft of the regulations was submitted to and approved by both houses of Parliament, as required by sections 83(3), 84(3), and 84(5) of the Act.
PART 1Introduction
Citation, commencement and extent1.
(1)
These Regulations may be cited as the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2025.
(2)
These Regulations come into force on 30th November 20252.
(3)
These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Part 1 introduces the regulations.
Section 1 provides the official title of the regulations, their effective date (November 30, 2025), and their geographical scope (the entire UK).
PART 2Amendment of primary legislation
Bank of England Act 19982.
In section 9U(3) of the Bank of England Act 1998 (publication of record of meetings)3, in paragraph (d), for “Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) Regulations 2014” substitute “Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/653)”
.
Part 2 details amendments to primary legislation.
Section 2 amends Section 9U(3) of the Bank of England Act 1998.
Specifically, it replaces a reference to the 2014 Capital Requirements Regulations with a reference to the updated 2025 Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures Regulations.
PART 3Amendment of secondary legislation
Bank of England Act 1998 (Macro-prudential Measures) (No. 2) Order 20153.
In article 2(1) of the Bank of England Act 1998 (Macro-prudential Measures) (No. 2) Order 2015 (interpretation)4—
(a)
in the definition of “G-SII”, omit “pursuant to Part 4 of the Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) Regulations 2014”;
(b)
in the definition of “G-SII additional leverage ratio”, for “G-SII buffer” substitute “buffer”
;
(c)
omit the definition of “G-SII buffer”;
(d)
in the definition of “institution-specific countercyclical capital buffer”, for “Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) Regulations 2014” substitute “Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures Regulations 2025”
;
(e)
in the definition of “O-SII additional leverage ratio”, for “Part 5ZA of the Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) Regulations 2014” substitute “Part 3 of the Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures Regulations 2025”
;
(f)
in the definition of “O-SII buffer”, for “regulation 34 of the Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measure) Regulations 2014” substitute “regulation 16 of the Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures Regulations 2025”
;
(g)
in the definition of “relevant O-SII”, for “regulation 34 of the Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) Regulations 2014” substitute “regulation 14 of the Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures Regulations 2025”
.
Part 3 addresses amendments to secondary legislation.
Section 3 revises Article 2(1) of the Bank of England Act 1998 (Macro-prudential Measures) (No. 2) Order 2015.
Several specific alterations are made to definitions within this article, all updating references to the 2014 Capital Requirements Regulations to point instead to the 2025 regulations.
Certain phrases are removed or replaced for clarity and consistency.
PART 4Amendment of assimilated law
Regulation (EU) No 648/20124.
In Article 25 (recognition of a third-country CCP) of Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories5, in paragraph 2a(a)(i), for “regulation 29 of the Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) Regulations 2014” substitute “regulation 15 of the Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures Regulations 2025”
.
Regulation (EU) No 575/20135.
(1)
Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and investment firms and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/20126 is amended as follows.
(2)
In Article 4(1) (definitions)—
(a)
in point (133) (definition of “global systemically important institution”), for the words from “in accordance with” to the end of that point substitute “as such by the PRA”
;
(b)
in point (146)(b) (definition of “large institution”), for “Part 6 of the Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) Regulations 2014” substitute “Part 3 of the Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures Regulations 2025”
.
(3)
In the following provisions, for “combined buffer requirement defined in regulation 2 of the Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) Regulations 2014”, wherever it occurs, substitute “combined buffer defined in the Capital Buffers Part of the PRA rulebook7”
—
(a)
Article 84(1)(a) (minority interests included in consolidated Common Equity Tier 1 capital);
(b)
Article 85(1)(a) (Qualifying Tier 1 instruments included in consolidated Tier 1 capital);
(c)
Article 87(1)(a) (Qualifying own funds included in consolidated own funds).
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 241/20146.
(1)
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 241/2014 of 7 January 2014 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards for own funds requirements for institutions8 is amended as follows.
(2)
In Article 10(3)(b) (limitations on redemption of capital instruments issued by mutuals, savings institutions, cooperative societies and similar institutions etc), for “combined buffer requirement as defined in regulation 2(1) of the Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macroprudential Measures) Regulations 2014” substitute “combined buffer defined in the Capital Buffers Part of the PRA rulebook”
9.
(3)
In Article 29(3)(a)(2) (submission of application by the institution to carry out redemptions, reductions and repurchases for the purposes etc), for “combined buffer requirement as defined in regulation 2(1) of the Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) Regulations 2014” substitute “combined buffer defined in the Capital Buffers Part of the PRA rulebook”
.
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 342/20147.
(1)
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 342/2014 of 21 January 2014 supplementing Directive 2002/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards for the application of the calculation methods of capital adequacy requirements for financial conglomerates10 is amended as follows.
(2)
In Article 2(6) (definitions: reference to the PRA rulebook), at the end insert “, except in Article 9(2)(b)(iii)”
.
(3)
“(iii)
the combined buffer defined in the Capital Buffers Part of the PRA rulebook (which means the rulebook published by the PRA containing rules made by that Authority under FSMA as amended from time to time)”.
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/15558.
In Article 1 (subject-matter) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/1555 of 28 May 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No. 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards for the disclosure of information in relation to the compliance of institutions with the requirement for a countercyclical capital buffer in accordance with Article 44012 , for “Part 3 of the Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) Regulations 2014” substitute “Part 2 of the Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures Regulations 2025”
.
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/14509.
(1)
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1450 of 23 May 2016 supplementing Directive 2014/59/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards specifying the criteria relating to the methodology for setting the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities13 is amended as follows.
(2)
In Article 1 (determining the amount necessary to ensure loss absorption)—
(a)
“(c)
the combined buffer defined in the Capital Buffers Part of the PRA rulebook ”.
(b)
“7.
In paragraph 2(c) and Article 2, “PRA rulebook” means the rulebook published by the Prudential Regulation Authority containing rules made by that Authority under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended from time to time.”.
(3)
In Article 2 (determination of the amount necessary to continue to comply with conditions for authorisation and to carry out activities and sustain market confidence in the institution), in paragraph 8, for “combined buffer requirement, as defined in regulation 2 of the Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) Regulations 2014” substitute “combined buffer defined in the Capital Buffers Part of the PRA rulebook (see Article 1(7))”
.
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/225110.
In Article 8 (concentration limits for initial margin) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/2251 of 4 October 2016 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories with regard to regulatory technical standards for risk-mitigation techniques for OTC derivative contracts not cleared by a central counterparty14, in paragraph 3—
(a)
in point (a), for the words from “in accordance with” to the end of that point, substitute “(global systemically important institutions) by the PRA”
;
(b)
in point (b), for “Part 5 of the Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) Regulations 2014” substitute “Part 3 of the Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures Regulations 2025”
.
Part 4 covers further amendments to assimilated EU law.
Sections 4 through 10 amend various EU regulations (Regulations (EU) No 648/2012, 575/2013, 241/2014, 342/2014, 2015/1555, 2016/1450, and 2016/2251).
These amendments similarly update references to the 2014 Capital Requirements Regulations with references to the 2025 Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures Regulations and make other minor changes for consistency and accuracy in terminology.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
Section 1 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (c. 29) revokes subordinate legislation in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to that Act, including the Capital Requirements (Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/894) (“the 2014 Capital Buffers Regulations”).
The revocation of the 2014 Capital Buffers Regulations comes into force on 31st July 2025 by virtue of regulation 3 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Commencement No. 9) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/572 (C. 25)). Certain provisions of the 2014 Capital Buffers Regulations are restated by the Capital Buffers and Macro-prudential Measures Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/653), which are to come into force on 31st July 2025.
These Regulations make consequential amendments in connection with the revocation and restatement of the 2014 Capital Buffers Regulations.
No impact assessment has been published in respect of these Regulations because no impact, or no significant impact, on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.
The explanatory note clarifies that these regulations are a result of changes within the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, specifically, the revocation of the 2014 Capital Buffers Regulations.
It highlights that the current regulations make necessary changes to various legal texts in relation to those revocations and the subsequent replacement regulations.
The note concludes that no impact assessment was required as no significant impact is expected.