The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Ring-fenced Bodies, Core Activities, Excluded Activities and Prohibitions) (Amendment) Order 2025 has been published alongside an explanatory memorandum. The Order amends the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Ring-fenced Bodies and Core Activities) Order 2014 (SI 2014/1960) (CAO) and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Excluded Activities and Prohibitions) Order 2014 (SI 2014/2080) (EAPO) to adjust the regulatory regime applying to ring-fenced bodies. Amendments include the introduction of a secondary threshold to exempt retail-focused banking groups from the regime, architectural reforms, removing the geographic restrictions on where ring-fenced banks can operate, and the introduction of a four-year transition period for complying with the ring-fencing regime where ring-fenced banking groups acquire another bank that is not subject to ring-fencing. The Order also expands the list of permitted products and services, including to facilitate investments by ring-fenced banks in SMEs and introduces a de minimis threshold for excluded activities. The order was made on January 13, 2025, and comes into force on the twenty-second day after the day on which it is made. On January 15, 2025, a correction slip to the order was published, confirming that the coming into force date cross-heading which initially read "11 February 2025" should read "4 February 2025".
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