Regulation of benchmarks in the UK
In 2009, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), together with regulators and public authorities in a number of different jurisdictions – including the United States, Canada, Japan, Switzerland and the European Union – began investigating a number of institutions for alleged misconduct relating to LIBOR and other benchmarks. Following the announcement of findings against Barclays in late June 2012, the Government asked Martin Wheatley, Managing Director of the FSA and CEO-designate of the FCA, to establish an independent review into a number of aspects of the setting and usage of LIBOR. In 2012, the Government accepted all recommendations of the Wheatley Review and amended the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) through the Financial Services Act 2012 (the 2012 Act). Under the 2012 Act, the administration of and contribution to LIBOR became regulated activities. From 1 April 2015, the FCA began applying regulatory requirements to seven additional major UK-based financial benchmarks following the recommendations of the Fair and Effective Markets Review 1 .
	The UK regulatory regime for these eight benchmarks (including LIBOR) was replaced by Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 ("Benchmarks Regulation") on 1 January 2018. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Benchmarks) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/135) (which implemented aspects of the EU BMR in UK law) provided for the dual operation of the pre-and post-EU BMR regulatory regimes for benchmarks.
	The EU BMR introduced a regulatory framework to ensure the accuracy, robustness and integrity of benchmarks used in the EU. The EU BMR significantly widened the scope of benchmark regulation in the UK. It places regulatory requirements on administrators of benchmarks, supervised contributors to benchmarks and supervised entities that use benchmarks. These requirements relate to benchmark methodology, governance and transparency.
	At the end of the EU Exit Transition Period, the EU BMR formed part of retained EU law and continues to apply in the UK. In order to ensure that the regime continued to work effectively, the BMR was amended via the Benchmarks (Amendment and Transitional Provision) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/657).