Transaction reporting rules cut costs by £108 million a year
The Financial Conduct Authority has finalized new transaction reporting rules that will reduce annual industry compliance costs by £108 million. The changes, which take effect on April 3, 2028, trim reporting fields and remove requirements for foreign exchange derivatives.
Fewer fields and targeted exemptions
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published Policy Statement PS26/15 to streamline the UK transaction reporting regime.
The reforms will reduce annual industry reporting costs from £493 million to £385 million by removing duplicative data.
Key changes include reducing mandatory reporting fields from 65 to 52 and eliminating reporting for foreign exchange derivatives, benefiting over 400 firms.
The FCA is also removing reporting requirements for 7 million financial instruments traded exclusively on EU venues, yielding £32 million in annual savings.
Furthermore, the required historical error correction window is reduced from five years to three, cutting mandatory resubmissions by a third.
Implementation roadmap to 2028
The updated rules become effective on April 3, 2028, providing firms time to update and test reporting systems, though flexible supervision will allow earlier adoption for ready firms.
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, noted that transaction reports remain essential for catching financial crime and monitoring stability.
To maintain long-term alignment, the FCA created the Transaction and Post-trade Reporting Industry Harmonisation Taskforce alongside the Bank of England, which first convened in July 2026 to coordinate further regulatory integration with HM Treasury.
Smarter oversight, delayed relief
Cutting £108 million in reporting redundancy represents a tangible compliance victory for UK financial institutions.
However, delaying full implementation until April 2028 risks dragging out implementation costs while firms navigate dual reporting standards.
The FCA must ensure that data quality remains intact despite removing 13 reporting fields.