The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Disclosure of Confidential Information) Regulations 2001

PART I PRELIMINARY

Citation and Commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Disclosure of Confidential Information) Regulations 2001 and come into force on 18th June 2001.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations—

“the Act” means the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000;

“Authority worker” means—

(a)

a person who is or has been employed by the Authority; or

(b)

an auditor or expert instructed by the Authority;

“criminal investigation” means an investigation of any crime, including an investigation of any alleged or suspected crime and an investigation of whether a crime has been committed;

“dependent territory” means the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and any territory outside the British Islands for whose external relations the United Kingdom is responsible;

“dependent territory regulatory authority” means an overseas regulatory authority which exercises its functions in, and in relation to, a dependent territory;

“directive restrictions” means the restrictions imposed on the disclosure of information by article 25 of the investment services directive, article 30 of the banking consolidation directive, article 15 of the third life insurance directive, article 16 of the third non-life insurance directive, article 50 of the UCITS directive and article 25 of the listing particulars directive;

“disciplinary proceedings authority” means a person responsible for initiating prescribed disciplinary proceedings or determining the outcome of such proceedings;

“EEA competent authority” means a competent authority of an EEA state other than the United Kingdom for the purposes of any of the single market directives, the UCITS directive or the listing particulars directive;

“EEA regulatory authority” means an EEA competent authority or an overseas regulatory authority which exercises its functions in, and in relation to, an EEA State other than the United Kingdom;

“former regulated activities” means activities carried on before the coming into force of section 19 of the Act and which constitute—

(a)

investment business within the meaning of the Financial Services Act 1986(1);

(b)

deposit-taking business within the meaning of the Banking Act 1987(2);

(c)

insurance business within the meaning of the Insurance Companies Act 1982(3); or

(d)

insurance business within the meaning of the Friendly Societies Act 1992(4);

“former regulated person” means a person who, at any time before the coming into force of section 19 of the Act, was—

(a)

authorised under section 3 or 4 of the Insurance Companies Act 1982;

(b)

an authorised person within the meaning of the Financial Services Act 1986, or an appointed representative within the meaning of section 44(5) (appointed representatives) of that Act;

(c)

an authorised institution within the meaning of the Banking Act 1987;

(d)

a European institution within the meaning of the Banking Coordination (Second Council Directive) Regulations 1992(6);

(e)

a European investment firm within the meaning of the Investment Services Regulations 1995(7);

(f)

an EC company within the meaning of the Insurance Companies Act 1982 able to carry on direct insurance business through a branch in the United Kingdom, or provide insurance in the United Kingdom by virtue of paragraph 1 or 8 of Schedule 2F to that Act(8);

(g)

a friendly society authorised or treated as authorised for the purposes of Part IV of the Friendly Societies Act 1992, or permitted by virtue of section 31(2) or (3) of that Act to carry on activities without authorisation under that Part; or

(h)

a building society authorised or treated as authorised for the purposes of the Building Societies Act 1986(9);

“listing particulars directive” means Council Directive 80/390/EEC(10);

“non-EEA regulatory authority” means an overseas regulatory authority other than an EEA regulatory authority or a dependent territory regulatory authority;

“overseas regulatory authority” means—

(a)

an authority in a country or territory outside the United Kingdom which exercises any function of a kind mentioned in section 195(4) of the Act; or

(b)

an overseas investment exchange or overseas clearing house;

“prescribed disciplinary proceedings” means the disciplinary proceedings prescribed in Schedule 3;

“Secretary of State worker” means—

(a)

a person who is or has been employed by the Secretary of State; or

(b)

an auditor or expert instructed by the Secretary of State;

“single market directive information” means confidential information received by the Authority in the course of discharging its functions as the competent authority under any of the single market directives;

“the UCITS directive” means Council Directive 85/611/EEC(11);

“UCITS directive information” means confidential information received by the Authority in the course of discharging its functions as the competent authority under the UCITS directive.

(1)

1986 c. 60.

(2)

1987 c. 22.

(3)

1982 c. 50.

(4)

1992 c. 40.

(5)

Modified by S.I. 1992/3218 and S.I. 1995/3275.

(6)

S.I. 1992/3218; relevant amendments were made by S.I. 1999/2094.

(7)

S.I. 1995/3275; to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

(8)

Inserted by S.I. 1994/1696 and amended by S.I. 1997/2781.

(9)

1986 c. 53.

(10)

OJ No. L100, 17.04.80, p. 1, as last amended by Council Directive 87/345/EEC (OJ No. L185, 04.07.87, p. 81).

(11)

OJ No. L375, 31.12.85, p. 3, as last amended by European Parliament and Council Directive 95/26/EC (OJ No. L168, 18.07.95, p. 7).