Exemption for the Bank of England and the United Kingdom Debt Management Office under the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR)

Summary:

Report presented on 30 January 2019 by the European Commission assessing the regulation on market abuse in the light of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union.

Further information:

Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 on market abuse (MAR) exempts transactions, orders or behaviour by Member States, central banks, ministries and other agencies from the application of MAR insofar as they are undertaken in pursuit of monetary, exchange rate or public debt management policies.

Pursuant to Article 6(5) of MAR, such an exemption for operations undertaken in the public interest from the scope of MAR may be extended to certain public bodies and central banks of third countries.

In the light of the United Kingdom’s approaching change of status to a third country, and given the significant volume of transactions within scope of MAR that originate from the United Kingdom, there is a clear case for assessing the appropriateness of extending the Article 6 exemption to its central bank and, if applicable, its public bodies charged with, or intervening in, public debt management.