Related provisions for SUP 15.7.6A

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PR 2.3.1EURP

Articles 3 to 23 of the PD Regulation provide for the minimum information to be included in a prospectus:

Note: the Annexes (including schedules and building blocks) referred to in these articles are set out for information in PR App 3.

Article 3

Minimum information to be included in a prospectus

A prospectus shall be drawn up by using one or a combination of the schedules and building blocks set out in this Regulation.2

2

A prospectus shall contain the information items required in Annexes I to XVII and Annexes XX to XXX depending on the type of issuer or issues and securities involved. Subject to Article 4a(1), a competent authority shall not require that a prospectus contains information items which are not included in Annexes I to XVII or Annexes XX to XXX.3

1223

In order to ensure conformity with the obligation referred to in Article 5(1) of Directive 2003/71/EC, the competent authority of the home Member State, when approving a prospectus in accordance with Article 13 of that Directive, may, on a case by case basis, require the information provided by the issuer, the offeror or the person asking for admission to trading on a regulated market to be completed, for each of the information items.2

2

2Where the issuer, the offeror or the person asking for the admission to trading on a regulated market is required to include a summary in a prospectus, in accordance with Article 5(2) of Directive 2003/71/EC, the competent authority of the home Member State, when approving the prospectus in accordance with Article 13 of that Directive, may, on a case by case basis, require certain information provided in the prospectus, to be included in the summary.

3[Note: See transitional provisions in Regulation (EU) No 862/2012]

Article 4

Share registration document schedule

1.

For the share registration document information shall be given in accordance with the schedule set out in Annex I.

2.

The schedule set out in paragraph 1 shall apply to the following:

(1)

shares and other transferable securities equivalent to shares;

(2)

other securities which comply with the following conditions:

(a)

they can be converted or exchanged into shares or other transferable securities equivalent to shares, at the issuer’s or at the investor’s discretion, or on the basis of the conditions established at the moment of the issue, or give, in any other way, the possibility to acquire shares or other transferable securities equivalent to shares, and

(b)

provided that these shares or other transferable securities equivalent to shares are or will be issued by the issuer of the security and are not yet traded on a regulated market or an equivalent market outside the Community at the time of the approval of the prospectus covering the securities, and that the underlying shares or other transferable securities equivalent to shares can be delivered with physical settlement.

1Article 4a

Share registration document schedule in cases of complex financial history or significant financial commitment

1.

Where the issuer of a security covered by Article 4(2) has a complex financial history, or has made a significant financial commitment, and in consequence the inclusion in the registration document of certain items of financial information relating to an entity other than the issuer is necessary in order to satisfy the obligation laid down in Article 5(1) of Directive 2003/71/EC, those items of financial information shall be deemed to relate to the issuer. The competent authority of the home Member State shall in such cases request that the issuer, the offeror or the person asking for admission to trading include those items of information in the registration document.

Those items of financial information may include pro forma information prepared in accordance with Annex II. In this context, where the issuer has made a significant financial commitment any such pro forma information shall illustrate the anticipated effects of the transaction that the issuer has agreed to undertake, and references in Annex II to “the transaction” shall be read accordingly.

2.

The competent authority shall base any request pursuant to the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 on the requirements set out in item 20.1 of Annex I, item 15.1 of Annex XXIII, item 20.1 of Annex XXV, item 11.1 of Annex XXVII and item 20.1 of Annex XXVIII as regards the content of financial information and the applicable accounting and auditing principles, subject to any modification which is appropriate in view of any of the following factors:2

2

(a)

the nature of the securities;

(b)

the nature and range of information already included in the prospectus, and the existence of financial information relating to an entity other than the issuer in a form that might be included in a prospectus without modification;

(c)

the facts of the case, including the economic substance of the transactions by which the issuer has acquired or disposed of its business undertaking or any part of it, and the specific nature of that undertaking;

(d)

the ability of the issuer to obtain financial information relating to another entity with reasonable effort.

Where, in the individual case, the obligation laid down in Article 5(1) of Directive 2003/71/EC may be satisfied in more than one way, preference shall be given to the way that is the least costly or onerous.

(3)

Paragraph 1 is without prejudice to the responsibility under national law of any other person, including the persons referred to in Article 6(1) of Directive 2003/71/EC, for the information contained in the prospectus. In particular, those persons shall be responsible for the inclusion in the registration document of any items of information requested by the competent authority pursuant to paragraph 1.

(4)

For the purposes of paragraph 1, an issuer shall be treated as having a complex financial history if all of the following conditions apply:

(a)

its entire business undertaking at the time that the prospectus is drawn up is not accurately represented in the historical financial information which it is required to provide under item 20.1 of Annex I, item 15.1 of Annex XXIII, item 20.1 of Annex XXV, item 11.1 of Annex XXVII and item 20.1 of Annex XXVIII;2

2

(b)

that inaccuracy will affect the ability of an investor to make an informed assessment as mentioned in Article 5(1) of Directive 2003/71/EC; and

(c)

information relating to its business undertaking that is necessary for an investor to make such an assessment is included in financial information relating to another entity.

(5)

For the purposes of paragraph 1, an issuer shall be treated as having made a significant financial commitment if it has entered into a binding agreement to undertake a transaction which, on completion, is likely to give rise to a significant gross change.

In this context, the fact that an agreement makes completion of the transaction subject to conditions, including approval by a regulatory authority, shall not prevent that agreement from being treated as binding if it is reasonably certain that those conditions will be fulfilled.

In particular, an agreement shall be treated as binding where it makes the completion of the transaction conditional on the outcome of the offer of the securities that are the subject matter of the prospectus or, in the case of a proposed takeover, if the offer of securities that are the subject matter of the prospectus has the objective of funding that takeover.

(6)

For the purposes of paragraph 5 of this Article, and of item 20.2 of Annex I, item 15.2 of Annex XXIII and item 20.2 of Annex XXV, a significant gross change means a variation of more than 25%, relative to one or more indicators of the size of the issuer's business, in the situation of an issuer.2

2

Recital 9

Pro forma financial information is needed in case of significant gross change, i. e. a variation of more than 25% relative to one or more indicators of the size of the issuer's business, in the situation of an issuer due to a particular transaction, with the exception of those situations where merger accounting is required.

Article 5

Pro-forma financial information building block

For pro-forma financial information, information shall be given in accordance with the building block set out in Annex II.

Pro forma financial information should be preceded by an introductory explanatory paragraph that states in clear terms the purpose of including this information in the prospectus.

Article 6

Share securities note schedule

1.

For the share securities note information is necessary to be given in accordance with the schedule set out in Annex III.

2.

The schedule shall apply to shares and other transferable securities equivalent to shares5

53.

Where shares with warrants give the right to acquire the issuer’s shares and these shares are not admitted to trading on a regulated market, the information required by the schedule set out in Annex XII except item 4.2.2 shall also be given.

[Note: See transitional provisions in Regulation (EU) No 759/2013]5

Article 7

Debt and derivative securities registration document schedule for securities with a denomination per unit of less than EUR 100 0002

2

For the debt and derivative securities registration document concerning securities which are not covered in Article 4 with a denomination per unit of less than EUR 100 0002 or, where there is no individual denomination, securities that can only be acquired on issue for less than EUR 100 0002 per security, information shall be given in accordance with the schedule set out in Annex IV.

22

Article 8

Securities note schedule for debt securities with a denomination per unit of less than EUR 100 0002

2

1.

For the securities note for debt securities with a denomination per unit of less than EUR 100 0002 information shall be given in accordance with the schedule set out in Annex V.

2

2.

The schedule shall apply to debt where the issuer has an obligation arising on issue to pay the investor 100% of the nominal value in addition to which there may be also an interest payment.5

53.

Where debt securities are exchangeable or convertible into shares already admitted to trading on a regulated market, the information required by item 4.2.2 of the schedule set out in Annex XII shall also be given.

54.

Where debt securities are convertible or exchangeable into shares which are or will be issued by the issuer of the debt security or by an entity belonging to its group and these underlying shares are not already admitted to trading on a regulated market, information on the issuer of the underlying shares shall also be given in accordance with items 3.1 and 3.2 of the schedule set out in Annex III or, as the case may be, of the proportionate schedule set out in Annex XXIV.

55.

Where debt securities with warrants give the right to acquire the issuer’s shares and these shares are not admitted to trading on a regulated market, the information required by the schedule set out in Annex XII except item 4.2.2 shall also be given.

[Note: See transitional provisions in Regulation (EU) No 759/2013]5

Article 9

Guarantees building block

For guarantees information shall be given in accordance with the building block set out in Annex VI.

2Item 3 of Annex VI shall not apply where a Member State acts as guarantor.

Article 10

Asset backed securities registration document schedule

For the asset backed securities registration document information shall be given in accordance with the schedule set out in Annex VII.

Article 11

Asset backed securities building block

For the additional information building block to the securities note for asset backed securities information shall be given in accordance with the building block set out in Annex VIII.

Article 12

Debt and derivative securities registration document schedule for securities with a denomination per unit of at least EUR 100 0002

2

For the debt and derivative securities registration document concerning securities which are not covered in Article 4 with a denomination per unit of at least EUR 100 0002 or, where there is no individual denomination, securities that can only be acquired on issue for at least EUR 100 0002 per security, information shall be given in accordance with the schedule set out in Annex IX.

22

Article 13

Depository receipts schedule

For depository receipts issued over shares information shall be given in accordance with the schedule set out in Annex X.

Article 14

Banks registration document schedule

1.

For the banks registration document for debt and derivative securities and those securities which are not covered by article 4 information shall be given in accordance with the schedule set out in Annex XI.

2.

The schedule set out in paragraph 1 shall apply to credit institutions as defined in point (a) of Article 1(1) of Directive 2000/12/EC as well as to third country credit institutions which do not fall under that definition but have their registered office in a state which is a member of the OECD.

These entities may also use alternatively the registration document schedules provided for under in Articles 7 and 12.

Article 15

Securities note schedule for derivative securities

1.

For the securities note for derivative securities information shall be given in accordance with the schedule set out in Annex XII.

2.

The schedule shall apply to securities which are not in the scope of application of the other securities note schedules referred to in articles 6, 8 and 16, except for the cases mentioned in article 6(3), Article 8(3) and (5) and article 16 (3) and (5). The schedule shall apply to certain securities where the payment and/or delivery obligations are linked to an underlying.5

5

[Note: See transitional provisions in Regulation (EU) No 759/2013]5

Article 16

Securities note schedule for debt securities with a denomination per unit

of at least EUR 100 0002

2

1.

For the securities note for debt securities with a denomination per unit of at least EUR 100 0002 information shall be given in accordance with the schedule set out in Annex XIII.

2

2.

The schedule shall apply to debt where the issuer has an obligation arising on issue to pay the investor 100% of the nominal value in addition to which there may be also an interest payment.5

53.

Where debt securities are exchangeable or convertible into shares already admitted to trading on a regulated market, the information required by item 4.2.2 of the schedule set out in Annex XII shall also be given.

54.

Where debt securities are convertible or exchangeable into shares which are or will be issued by the issuer of the debt security or by an entity belonging to its group and these underlying shares are not already admitted to trading on a regulated market, information on the issuer of the underlying shares shall also be given in accordance with items 3.1 and 3.2 of the schedule set out in Annex III or, as the case may be, of the proportionate schedule set out in Annex XXIV.

55.

Where debt securities with warrants give the right to acquire the issuer’s shares and these shares are not admitted to trading on a regulated market, the information required by the schedule set out in Annex XII except item 4.2.2 shall also be given.

[Note: See transitional provisions in Regulation (EU) No 759/2013]5

Article 17

Additional information building block on the underlying share

1.

For the additional information on the underlying share, the description of the underlying share shall be given in accordance with the building block set out in Annex XIV.

In addition, if the issuer of the underlying share is an entity belonging to the same group, the information required by the schedule referred to in Article 4 shall be given in respect of that issuer.

2.

The additional information referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall only apply to those securities which comply with both of the following conditions:

(1)

they can be converted or exchanged into shares or other transferable securities equivalent to shares, at the issuer’s or at the investor’s discretion, or on the basis of the conditions established at the moment of the issue or give, in any other way, the possibility to acquire shares or other transferable securities equivalent to shares; and

(2)

provided that these shares or other transferable securities equivalent to shares are or will be issued by the issuer of the security, by an entity belonging to the group of that issuer or by a third party and are not yet traded on a regulated market or an equivalent market outside the Union at the time of the approval of the prospectus covering the securities, and that the underlying shares or other transferable securities equivalent to shares can be delivered with physical settlement.5

5

[Note: See transitional provisions in Regulation (EU) No 759/2013]5

Article 18

Registration document schedule for collective investment undertakings of the closed-end type

1.

In addition to the information required pursuant to items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.1, 7, 9.1, 9.2.1, 9.2.3, 10.4, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17.2, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 of Annex I, for the registration document for securities issued by collective investment undertakings of the closed-end type information shall be given in accordance with the schedule set out in Annex XV.

2.

The schedule shall apply to collective investment undertakings of the closed-end type holding a portfolio of assets on behalf of investors that:

(1)

are recognised by national law in the Member State in which it is incorporated as a collective investment undertaking of the closed end type; or

(2)

do not take or seek to take legal or management control of any of the issuers of its underlying investments. In such a case, legal control and/or participation in the administrative, management or supervisory bodies of the underlying issuer(s) may be taken where such action is incidental to the primary investment objective, necessary for the protection of shareholders and only in circumstances where the collective investment undertaking will not exercise significant management control over the operations of that underlying issuer(s).

Article 19

Registration document schedule for Member States, third countries and their regional and local authorities

1.

For the registration document for securities issued by Member States, third countries and their regional and local authorities information shall be given in accordance with the schedule set out in Annex XVI.

2.

The schedule shall apply to all types of securities issued by Member States, third countries and their regional and local authorities.

Article 20

Registration document schedule for public international bodies and for issuers of debt securities guaranteed by a member state of the OECD

1.

For the registration document for securities issued by public international bodies and for securities unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed, on the basis of national legislation, by a state which is a member of the OECD information shall be given in accordance with the schedule set out in Annex XVII.

2.

The schedule shall apply to:

- all types of securities issued by public international bodies;

- to debt securities unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed, on the basis of national legislation, by a state which is a member of the OECD.

3Article 20a

Additional information building block for consent given in accordance with Article 3(2) of Directive 2003/71/EC

1.

For the purposes of the third subparagraph of Article 3(2) of Directive 2003/71/EC, the prospectus shall contain the following:

(a)

the additional information set out in Sections 1 and 2A of Annex XXX where the consent is given to one or more specified financial intermediaries;

(b)

the additional information set out in Sections 1 and 2B of Annex XXX where the issuer or the person responsible for drawing up the prospectus chooses to give its consent to all financial intermediaries.

2.

Where a financial intermediary does not comply with the conditions attached to consent as disclosed in the prospectus, a new prospectus shall be required in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 3(2) of Directive 2003/71/EC.

[Note: See transitional provisions in Regulation (EU) No 862/2012]

Article 21

Combination of schedules and building blocks

1.

The use of the combinations provided for in the table set out in Annex XVIII shall be mandatory when drawing up prospectuses for the types of securities to which those combinations correspond according to this table. However, for securities not covered by those combinations further combinations may be used.

2.

The most comprehensive and stringent registration document schedule, i.e. the most demanding schedule in term of number of information items and the extent of the information included in them, may always be used to issue securities for which a less comprehensive and stringent registration document schedule is provided for, according to the following ranking of schedules:

(1)

share registration document schedule;

(2)

debt and derivative securities registration document schedule for securities with a denomination per unit of less than EUR 100 0002;

2

(3)

debt and derivative securities registration document schedule for securities with a denomination per unit at least EUR 100 0002.

2

23.

The issuer, the offeror and the person asking for admission to trading on a regulated market may choose to draw up a prospectus in accordance with the proportionate schedules set out in Annexes XXIII to XXIX instead of the schedules set out in Annexes I, III, IV, IX, X and XI as described in the second subparagraph provided that the respective conditions laid down in Articles 26a, 26b and 26c are fulfilled.

Where the issuer, the offeror and the person asking for admission to trading on a regulated market makes that choice:

(a)

the reference to Annex I in Annex XVIII shall be read as a reference to Annexes XXIII or XXV;

(b)

the reference to Annex III in Annex XVIII shall be read as a reference to Annex XXIV;

(c)

the reference to Annex IV in Annex XVIII shall be read as a reference to Annex XXVI;

(d)

the reference to Annex IX in Annex XVIII shall be read as a reference to Annex XXVII;

(e)

the reference to Annex X in Annex XVIII shall be read as a reference to Annex XXVIII;

(f)

the reference to Annex XI in Annex XVIII shall be read as a reference to Annex XXIX.

Article 22

Minimum information to be included in a base prospectus and its related final terms

1.

A base prospectus shall be drawn up using one or a combination of schedules and building blocks provided for in this Regulation according to the combinations for various types of securities set out in Annex XVIII.2

2

A base prospectus shall contain the information items required in Annexes I to XVII, Annex XX and Annexes XXIII to XXX depending on the type of issuer and securities involved. Competent authorities shall not require that a base prospectus contains information items which are not included in Annexes I to XVII, Annex XX or Annexes XXIII to XXX.3

223

In order to ensure conformity with the obligation referred to in Article 5(1) of Directive 2003/71/EC, the competent authority of the home Member State, when approving a base prospectus in accordance with Article 13 of that Directive, may, on a case by case basis, require the information provided by the issuer, the offeror or the person asking for admission to trading on a regulated market to be completed for each of the information items.2

2

2Where the issuer, the offeror or the person asking for the admission to trading on a regulated market is required to include a summary in a base prospectus, in accordance with Article 5(2) of Directive 2003/71/EC, the competent authority of the home Member State, when approving the base prospectus in accordance with Article 13 of that Directive, may, on a case-by-case basis, require certain information provided in the base prospectus to be included in the summary.

21a.

The base prospectus may contain options with regard to information categorised as Category A, Category B and Category C, required by the relevant securities note schedules and building blocks, and set out in Annex XX. The final terms shall determine which of these options is applicable to the individual issue, by referring to the relevant sections of the base prospectus or by replicating such information.

2.

The issuer, the offeror or the person asking for admission to trading on a regulated market may omit information items which are not known when the base prospectus is approved and which can only be determined at the time of the individual issue.

3.

The use of the combinations provided for in the table in Annex XVIII shall be mandatory when drawing up base prospectuses for the types of securities to which those combinations correspond according to this table. However, for securities not covered by those combinations further combinations may be used.

4.

The final terms attached to a base prospectus shall only contain the following:2

2

2(a)

within the various securities notes schedules according to which the base prospectus is drawn up, the information items in Categories B and C listed in Annex XX. When an item is not applicable to a prospectus, the item shall appear in the final terms with the mention "not applicable;

2(b)

on a voluntary basis, any “additional information” set out in Annex XXI;

2(c)

any replication of, or reference to options already provided for in the base prospectus which are applicable to the individual issue.

2The final terms shall not amend or replace any information in the base prospectus.

5.

In addition to the information items set out in the schedules and building blocks referred to in Articles 4 to 20 the following information shall be included in a base prospectus:

(1)

indication on the information that will be included in the final terms;2

2(1a)

a section containing a template, the "form of the final terms", which has to be filled out for each individual issue;

(2)

the method of publication of the final terms; if the issuer is not in a position to determine, at the time of the approval of the prospectus, the method of publication of the final terms, an indication of how the public will be informed about which method will be used for the publication of the final terms;

(3)

in the case of issues of non equity securities according to [PR 2.2.7R (1)], a general description of the programme.

6.

Only the following categories of securities may be contained in a base prospectus and its related final terms covering issues of various types of securities:

(1)

asset backed securities;

(2)

warrants falling under Article 17;

(3)

non-equity securities provided for under [PR 2.2.7R (2)];

(4)

all other non-equity securities including warrants with the exception of those mentioned in point (2).

In drawing up a base prospectus the issuer, the offeror or the person asking for admission to trading on a regulated market shall clearly segregate the specific information on each of the different securities included in these categories.

7.

Where an event envisaged under [section 87G(1) of the Act (Supplementary prospectus)] occurs between the time that the base prospectus has been approved and the final closing of the offer of each issue of securities under the base prospectus or, as the case may be, the time that trading on a regulated market of those securities begins, the issuer, the offeror or the person asking for admission to trading on a regulated market shall publish a supplement prior to the final closing of the offer or the admission of those securities to trading.

2Where the issuer needs to prepare a supplement concerning information in the base prospectus that relates to only one or several specific issues, the right of investors to withdraw their acceptances pursuant to Article 16(2) of Directive 2003/71/EC shall only apply to the relevant issues and not to any other issues of securities under the base prospectus.

2[Note: See transitional provisions in Regulation (EU) No 862/2012]3

5

Article 23

Adaptations to the minimum information given in prospectuses and base prospectuses

1.

Notwithstanding Articles 3 second paragraph and 22(1) second subparagraph, where the issuer’s activities fall under one of the categories included in Annex XIX, the [FCA], taking into consideration the specific nature of the activities involved, may ask for adapted information, in addition to the information items included in the schedules and building blocks set out in 4 to 20, including, where appropriate, a valuation or other expert’s report on the assets of the issuer, in order to comply with the obligation referred to in [sections 87A(2),(3) and (4) of the Act]. The [FCA] shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

In order to obtain the inclusion of a new category in Annex XIX a Member State shall notify its request to the Commission. The Commission shall update this list following the Committee procedure provided for in Article 24 of [the prospectus directive].

2.

By way of derogation of Articles 3 to 22, where an issuer, an offeror or a person asking for admission to trading on a regulated market applies for approval of a prospectus or a base prospectus for a security which is not the same but comparable to the various types of securities mentioned in the table of combinations set out in Annex XVIII, the issuer, the offeror or the person asking for admission to trading on a regulated market shall add the relevant information items from another securities note schedule provided for in Articles 4 to 20 to the main securities note schedule chosen. This addition shall be done in accordance with the main characteristics of the securities being offered to the public or admitted to trading on a regulated market.

3.

By way of derogation of Articles 3 to 22, where an issuer, an offeror or a person asking for admission to trading on a regulated market applies for approval of a prospectus or a base prospectus for a new type of security, the issuer, the offeror or the person asking for admission to trading on a regulated market shall notify a draft prospectus or base prospectus to the [FCA].

The [FCA] shall decide, in consultation with the issuer, the offeror or the person asking for admission to trading on a regulated market, what information shall be included in the prospectus or base prospectus in order to comply with the obligation referred to in [sections 87A(2),(3) and (4) of the Act]. The [FCA] shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

The derogation referred to in the first subparagraph shall only apply in case of a new type of security which has features completely different from the various types of securities mentioned in Annex XVIII, if the characteristics of this new security are such that a combination of the different information items referred to in the schedules and building blocks provided for in Articles 4 to 20 is not pertinent.

4.

By way of derogation of Articles 3 to 22, in the cases where one of the information items required in one of the schedules or building blocks referred to in 4 to 20 or equivalent information is not pertinent to the issuer, to the offer or to the securities to which the prospectus relates, that information may be omitted.

3
SYSC 22.5.10GRP
(1) SYSC 22.2.2R(1) to (3) normally has a six year time limit. SYSC 22.2.2R(3)(c) removes that time limit for serious matters. This paragraph (SYSC 22.5.10G) and SYSC 22.5.11G have guidance about this. This guidance is also relevant to the time limits for updating references in SYSC 22.2.6R.(2) The removal of the time limit does not mean that the time that has elapsed since the matter occurred is irrelevant. The length of time that has elapsed is relevant to deciding whether the
FEES 1.1.2RRP
This manual applies in the following way:(1) FEES 1, 2 and 3 apply to the fee payers listed in column 1 of the Table of application, notification and vetting fees in FEES 3.2.7 R29. 1050(a) [deleted]1010(b) [deleted]1010(c) [deleted]1010(d) [deleted]1010(e) [deleted]10(f) [deleted]1010(g) [deleted]1010(h) [deleted]1010(i) [deleted]1010(j) [deleted]1010(k) [deleted]1010(l) [deleted]1010(m) [deleted]1010(n) [deleted]104(o) 3345410[deleted]10(p) 55410[deleted]10(q) 6510[deleted]10(r)
CREDS 10.1.3GRP

Module

Relevance to Credit Unions

The Principles for Businesses (PRIN)

The Principles for Businesses (PRIN) set out 3high-level requirements 3imposed by the FCA3. They provide a general statement of regulatory requirements. The Principles apply to all12credit unions. In applying the Principles to credit unions, the FCA3 will be mindful of proportionality. In practice, the implications are likely to vary according to the size and complexity 3of the credit union.

1212121212

Senior Management Arrangements, Systems and Controls (SYSC)

SYSC 1,3SYSC 4 to 10 and SYSC 213 apply to all credit unions in respect of the carrying on of their regulated activities and unregulated activities in a prudential context. SYSC 4.5 (Management responsibilities maps for relevant authorised persons), SYSC 4.7 (Senior management responsibilities for relevant authorised persons: allocation of responsibilities), SYSC 4.9 (Handover procedures and material), SYSC 5.2 (Certification regime) and SYSC 18 apply3 to all credit unions in respect of both their regulated activities and their unregulated activities3.

3Code of Conduct (COCON)

This contains rules and guidance that are directly applicable to a credit union’sSMF managers, certification employees and (from 2017) other conduct rules staff. There is also guidance for credit unions on giving their staff training about COCON.

Threshold Conditions (COND)

In order to become authorised under the Act all firms must meet the threshold conditions. The threshold conditions must be met on a continuing basis by credit unions. Failure to meet one of the conditions is sufficient grounds for the exercise by the FCA3 of its powers.

121212

3

3

12312

The Fit and Proper test for Approved Persons (FIT)

The purpose of FIT is to set out and describe the criteria that a firm should3 consider when assessing the fitness and propriety of a person (1)3 in respect of whom an application is being made for approval to undertake a controlled function under the approved persons regime, (2)3 who has already been approved, (3) who is a certification employee or (4) whom a firm is considering appointing to be a certification employee3.

It also sets out and describes criteria that the FCA will consider when assessing the fitness and propriety of a candidate for a controlled function position and that it may consider when assessing the continuing fitness and propriety of approved persons.3

12312

General Provisions (GEN)

GEN contains rules and guidance on general matters, including interpreting the Handbook, statutory status disclosure, the FCA's3 logo and insurance against financial penalties.

12

Fees manual (FEES)

This manual sets out the fees applying to credit unions.

3Prudential sourcebook for Mortgage and Home Finance Firms, and Insurance Intermediaries (MIPRU)

MIPRU applies to any credit union carrying out insurance mediation activity or home finance mediation activity, or using these services. In particular, it sets out requirements for allocation of responsibility for the credit union’sinsurance mediation activity (MIPRU 2), for the use of home finance intermediaries (MIPRU 5) and for professional indemnity insurance (MIPRU 3).

Conduct of Business sourcebook (COBS)

A credit union which acts as a CTF provider or provides a cash-deposit ISA will need to be aware of the relevant requirements in COBS. COBS 4.6 (Past, simulated past and future performance), COBS 4.7.1 R (Direct offer financial promotions), COBS 4.10 (Systems and controls and approving and communicating financial promotions), COBS 13 (Preparing product information) and COBS 14 (Providing product information to clients) apply with respect to accepting deposits as set out in those provisions, COBS 4.1 and BCOBS. A credit union that communicates with clients, including in a financial promotion, in relation to the promotion of deferred shares and credit union subordinated debt will need to be aware of the requirements of COBS 4.2 (Fair, clear and not misleading communications) and COBS 4.5 (Communicating with retail clients).4

3Insurance: Conduct of Business sourcebook (ICOBS)

ICOBS applies to any credit union carrying on non-investment insurance activities, such as arranging or advising on general insurance contracts to be taken out by members. But ICOBS does not apply to a credit union taking out an insurance policy for itself, such as a policy against default by members on their loans where the credit union is the beneficiary of the policy, since in this circumstance the credit union would not be acting as an insurance intermediary, but would itself be the customer. Credit unions are reminded that they are subject to the requirements of the appropriate legislation, including the Credit Unions Act 1979, relating to activities a credit union may carry on.

3Mortgages and Home Finance: Conduct of Business sourcebook (MCOB)

MCOB applies to any credit union that engages in any home finance activity. MCOB rules cover advising and selling standards, responsible lending (including affordability assessment), charges, and the fair treatment of customers in payment difficulties.

Banking: Conduct of Business sourcebook (BCOBS)

BCOBS sets out rules and guidance for credit unions on how they should conduct their business with their customers. In particular there are rules and guidance relating to communications with banking customers3and financial promotions (BCOBS 2), distance communications (BCOBS 3), information to be communicated to banking customers3(BCOBS 4), post sale requirements (BCOBS 5), and cancellation (BCOBS 6). 3The rules in BCOBS 3.1 that relate to distance contracts may apply 3to a credit union. This is because the Distance Marketing Directive3applies where there is "an organised distance sales or service-provision scheme run by the supplier" (Article 2(a)), i.e. if the credit union routinely sells any of its services by post, telephone, fax or the internet3.

Supervision manual (SUP)

The following provisions of SUP are relevant to credit unions: 13SUP 1A13 (The FCA’s 3 approach to supervision), SUP 2 (Information gathering by the FCA or PRA 3 on its own initiative), SUP 3.1 to SUP 3.8 (Auditors), SUP 5 (Skilled persons), SUP 6 (Applications to vary or cancel Part 4A12permission), SUP 7 (Individual requirements), SUP 8 (Waiver and modification of rules), SUP 9 (Individual guidance), 13SUP 10C (FCA senior management regime for approved persons in relevant authorised persons),3SUP 11 (Controllers and Close links), SUP 15 (Notifications to the FCA or PRA 3) and SUP 16 (Reporting Requirements).

Credit unions are reminded that they are subject to the requirements of the Act and SUP 11 on close links, and are bound to notify the FCA3 of changes. It may be unlikely, in practice, that credit unions will develop such relationships. It is possible, however, that a person may acquire close links with a 3credit union3 within the meaning of the Act by reason of holding the prescribed proportion of deferred shares in the credit union.

In relation to SUP 16, credit unions are exempted from the requirement to submit annual reports of 3close links.

12121212121312121212

3Consumer Credit sourcebook (CONC)

CONC contains rules that apply to firms carrying on credit-related regulated activities. PERG 2.7.19IG provides guidance on relevant exemptions. Most credit union lending is therefore outside the scope of CONC. However, subject to the constraints in the Credit Unions Act 1979 or the Credit Unions (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 (as relevant), credit unions may undertake credit-related regulated activities to which CONC does apply if the activity is carried out by way of business. This could include lending under a borrower-lender-supplier agreement, or debt adjusting or debt counselling where the credit union is not the lender. A credit union carrying on such activities should consider whether it requires permission to do so. Further information can be found on the FCA’s website.

Decision, Procedure and Penalties manual (DEPP)

DEPP is relevant to credit unions because it sets out:

(1) the FCA's12 decision-making procedure for giving statutory notices. These are warning notices, decision notices and supervisory notices (DEPP 1.2 to DEPP 5); and

(2) the FCA's12 policy with respect to the imposition and amount of penalties under the Act (see DEPP 6).

1212

Dispute Resolution: Complaints (DISP)

DISP sets out rules and guidance in relation to treating complainants fairly and the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Compensation (COMP)

COMP sets out rules relating to the scheme for compensating consumers when authorised firms are unable, or likely to be unable, to satisfy claims against them.12

The Enforcement Guide (EG)

The Enforcement Guide (EG) describes the FCA's12 approach to exercising the main enforcement powers given to it by the Act and by other legislation.2

12

Financial crime: a guide for firms (FC)

FC provides guidance on steps that a firm can take to reduce the risk that it might be used to further financial crime.

TC App 6.1.1GRP

1Introduction

1.

An accredited body is a body appearing in the list of such bodies in the Glossary.1

1

2.

Information on accredited bodies, including guidance on the process for including an applicant body in the list, is set out below and the obligation to pay the application fee is set out in FEES 3.2.

3.

[deleted]1

1

Process for including a body in the list of accredited bodies

4.

In considering the compatibility of a proposed addition with the statutory objectives, the FCA will determine whether the applicant will, if accredited, contribute to securing an appropriate degree of protection for consumers having regard in particular to:

(1)

the matters set out in paragraphs 10 to 20; and

(2)

the rules and practices of the applicant.

5.

An application to the FCA to be added to the list of accredited bodies should set out how the applicant will satisfy the criteria in paragraphs 10 to 20. The application should be accompanied by a report from a suitable auditor which sets out its independent assessment of the applicant's ability to meet these criteria. An application form is available from the FCA upon request.

6.

When considering an application for accredited body status the FCA may:

(1)

carry out any enquiries and request any further information that it considers appropriate, including consulting other regulators;

(2)

ask the applicant or its specified representative to answer questions and explain any matter the FCA considers relevant to the application;

(3)

take into account any information which the FCA considers appropriate to the application; and

(4)

request that any information provided by the applicant or its specified representative is verified in such a manner as the FCA may specify.

7.

The FCA will confirm its decision in writing to the applicant.

8.

The FCA will enter into an agreement with the applicant or accredited body which will specify the requirements that the accredited body must meet. These will include the matters set out in paragraphs 10 to 20. Approval as an accredited body becomes effective only when the name of the applicant is added to the Glossary definition of accredited body.

9.

Paragraphs 10 to 20 set out the criteria which an applicant should meet to become an accredited body and which an accredited body should meet at all times.

Acting in the public interest and furthering the development of the profession

10.

The FCA will expect an accredited body to act in the public interest, to contribute to raising consumer confidence and professional standards in the retail investment advice market and to promoting the profession.

Carrying out effective verification services

11.

If independent verification of a retail investment adviser's professional standards has been carried out by an accredited body, the FCA will expect the accredited body to provide the retail investment adviser with evidence of that verification in a durable medium and in a form agreed by the FCA. This is referred to in this Appendix and TC 2.1.28 R as a 'statement of professional standing'.

12.

The FCA will expect an accredited body to have in place effective procedures for carrying out its verification activities. These should include:

(1)

verifying that each retail investment adviser who is a member of or subscriber to the accredited body's verification service has made an annual declaration in writing that the retail investment adviser has, in the preceding 12 months, complied with APER or, for a relevant authorised person, complied with COCON2and completed the continuing professional development required under TC 2.1.15 R;1

(2)

verifying annually the continuing professional development records of no less than 10% of the retail investment advisers who have used its service in the previous 12 months to ensure that the records are accurate and the continuing professional development completed by the retail investment advisers is appropriate; and

(3)

verifying that, if required by TC, the retail investment advisers who use its services have attained an appropriate qualification. This should include, where relevant, checking that appropriate qualification gap-fill records have been completed by the retail investment advisers.

13.

The FCA will not expect an accredited body to carry out the verification in paragraph 12(3) if a retail investment adviser provides the accredited body with evidence in a durable medium which demonstrates that another accredited body has previously verified the retail investment adviser's appropriate qualification, including, where relevant, appropriate qualification gap-fill.

14.

The FCA will expect an accredited body to make it a contractual condition of membership (where a retail investment adviser is a member of the accredited body) or of using its verification service (where a retail investment adviser is not a member of the accredited body) that, as a minimum, the accredited body will not continue to verify a retail investment adviser's standards and will3 withdraw its statement of professional standing if it 2is provided with:3

(a) false information in relation to a retail investment adviser’s qualifications or continuing professional development; or3

(b) a false declaration in relation to a retail investment adviser’s compliance with

APER; or3

(c) for a relevant authorised person, compliance with COCON.3

In this regard, an accredited body must have in place appropriate decision-making procedures with a suitable degree of independence and transparency.

222

Having appropriate systems and controls in place and providing evidence to the FCA of continuing effectiveness

15.

The FCA will expect an accredited body to ensure that it has adequate resources and systems and controls in place in relation to its role as an accredited body.

16.

The FCA will expect an accredited body to have effective procedures in place for the management of conflicts of interest and have a well-balanced governance structure with at least one member who is independent of the sector.

17.

The FCA will expect an accredited body to have a code of ethics and to ensure that its code of ethics and verification service terms and conditions do not contain any provisions that conflict with APER or COCON2.

Ongoing cooperation with the FCA

18.

The FCA will expect an accredited body to provide the FCA with such documents and information as the FCA reasonably requires, and to cooperate with the FCA in an open and transparent manner.

19.

The FCA will expect an accredited body to share information with the FCA (subject to any legal constraints) in relation to the professional standards of the retail investment advisers who use its service as appropriate. Examples might include conduct issues, complaints, dishonestly obtaining or falsifying qualifications or continuing professional development or a failure to complete appropriate continuing professional development. The FCA will expect an accredited body to notify the firm if issues such as these arise.

20.

The FCA will expect an accredited body to submit to the FCA an annual report by a suitable independent auditor which sets out that auditor's assessment of the quality of the body's satisfaction of the criteria in paragraphs 10 to 19 in the preceding 12 months and whether, in the auditor's view, the body is capable of satisfying the criteria in the subsequent 12 months. The FCA will expect this annual report to be submitted to the FCA within three months of the anniversary of the date on which the accredited body was added to the Glossary definition of accredited body.

Withdrawal of accreditation

21.

If an accredited body fails or, in the FCA's view, is likely to fail to satisfy the criteria, the FCA will discuss this with the accredited body concerned. If, following a period of discussion, the accredited body has failed to take appropriate corrective action to ensure that it satisfies and will continue to satisfy the criteria, the FCA will withdraw the accredited body's accreditation by removing its name from the list of accredited bodies published in the Glossary. The FCA will expect the body to notify each retail investment adviser holding a current statement of professional standing of the FCA's decision. A statement of professional standing issued by the accredited body before the withdrawal of accreditation will continue to be valid until its expiration.

LR App 1.1.1RP

1Note: The following definitions relevant to the listing rules are extracted from the Glossary.

16

Act

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

admission or admission to listing

admission of securities to the official list .

admission to trading

admission of securities to trading on an RIE's market for listedsecurities.

advertisement

(as defined in the PD Regulation) announcements:

(a)

relating to a specific offer to the public of securities or to an admission to trading on a regulated market; and

(b)

aiming to specifically promote the potential subscription or acquisition of securities.

applicant

an issuer which is applying for admission of securities.

asset backed security

(as defined in the PD Regulation) securities which:

(1)

represent an interest in assets, including any rights intended to assure servicing, or the receipt or timeliness of receipts by holders of assets of amounts payable there under; or

(2)

are secured by assets and the terms of which provide for payments which relate to payments or reasonable projections of payments calculated by reference to identified or identifiable assets.

associate

(A)36 in relation to a director, substantial shareholder, or person exercising significant influence, who is an individual:

6

(1)

that individual's spouse , civil partner 2or child (together "the individual's family");

(2)

the trustees (acting as such) of any trust of which the individual or any of the individual's family is a beneficiary or discretionary object (other than a trust which is either an occupational pension scheme or an employees' share scheme which does not, in either case, have the effect of conferring benefits on persons all or most of whom are related parties;

(3)

any company in whose equity securities the individual or any member or members (taken together) of the individual's family or the individual and any such member or members (taken together) are directly or indirectly interested (or have a conditional or contingent entitlement to become interested) so that they are (or would on the fulfilment of the condition or the occurrence of the contingency be) able:

(a) to exercise or control the exercise of 30% or more of the votes able to be cast at general meetings on all, or substantially all, matters; or

(b) to appoint or remove directors33 holding a majority of voting rights at board meetings on all, or substantially all, matters;29

33

29(4)

any partnership whether a limited partnership or limited liability partnership in which the individual or any member or members (taken together) of the individual’s family are directly or indirectly interested (or have a conditional or contingent entitlement to become interested) so that they hold or control or would on the fulfilment of the condition or the occurrence of the contingency be able to hold or control:

(a) a voting interest greater than 30% in the partnership; or

(b) at least 30% of the partnership.

For the purpose of paragraph (3), if more than one director of the listedcompany, its parent undertaking or any of its subsidiary undertakings is interested in the equity securities of another company, then the interests of those directors and their associates will be aggregated when determining whether that company is an associate of the director.

(B)36

in relation to a substantial shareholder or person exercising significant influence, which is a company:

6

(1)

any other company which is its subsidiary undertaking or parent undertaking or fellow subsidiary undertaking of the parent undertaking;

(2)

any company whose directors are accustomed to act in accordance with the substantial shareholder's or person exercising significant influence's directions or instructions;6

66

(3)

any company in the capital of which the substantial shareholder or person exercising significant influence and any other companyunder paragraph (1) or (2) taken together, is (or would on the fulfilment of a condition or the occurrence of a contingency be) able to exercise power of the type described in paragraph (3)(a) or (b) above of this definition.6

36(C) when used in the context of a controlling shareholder who is an individual:

36(1)

that individual's spouse, civil partner or child (together "the individual's family");

36(2)

the trustees (acting as such) of any trust of which the individual or any of the individual's family is a beneficiary or discretionary object (other than a trust which is either an occupational pension scheme or an employees' share scheme which does not, in either case, have the effect of conferring benefits on persons all or most of whom are controlling shareholders);

36(3)

any company in whose equity securities the individual or any member or members (taken together) of the individual's family or the individual and any such member or members (taken together) are directly or indirectly interested (or have a conditional or contingent entitlement to become interested) so that they are (or would on the fulfilment of the condition or the occurrence of the contingency be) able:

(a) to exercise or control the exercise of 30% or more of the votes able to be cast at general meetings on all, or substantially all, matters; or

(b) to appoint or remove directors holding a majority of voting rights at board meetings on all, or substantially all, matters;

36(4)

any partnership whether a limited partnership or limited liability partnership in which the individual or any member or members (taken together) of the individual's family are directly or indirectly interested (or have a conditional or contingent entitlement to become interested) so that they hold or control or would on the fulfilment of the condition or the occurrence of the contingency be able to hold or control:

(a) a voting interest greater than 30% in the partnership; or

(b) at least 30% of the partnership.

36For the purpose of paragraph (3), if more than one controlling shareholder of the listed company, its parent undertaking or any of its subsidiary undertakings is interested in the equity securities of another company, then the interests of those controlling shareholders and their associates will be aggregated when determining whether that company is an associate of the controlling shareholder.

36(D) when used in the context of a controlling shareholder which is a company:

36(1)

any other company which is its subsidiary undertaking or parent undertaking or fellow subsidiary undertaking of the parent undertaking;

36(2)

any company whose directors are accustomed to act in accordance with the controlling shareholder's directions or instructions;

36(3)

any company in the capital of which the controlling shareholder and any other company under paragraph (1) or (2) taken together, is (or would on the fulfilment of a condition or the occurrence of a contingency be) able to exercise power of the type described in paragraph (C)(3)(a) or (b) of this definition.

authorised person

(in accordance with section 31 of the Act (Authorised persons)) one of the following:

(a)

a person who has a Part 4A permission to carry on one or more regulated activities;

(b)

an incoming EEA firm;

(c)

an incoming Treaty firm;

(d)

a UCITS qualifier;

(e)

an ICVC;

(f)

the Society of Lloyd's.13

bank

(a)

a firm with a Part 4A permission which includes accepting deposits, and:

but which is not a building society, a friendly society or a credit union;

(b)

an EEA bank which is a full credit institution.

base prospectus

a base prospectus referred to in PR 2.2.7 R29

29body corporate

(in accordance with section 417(1) of the Act (Definitions)) any body corporate, including a body corporate constituted under the law of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom.

book value of property

(in relation to a property company) the value of a property (which is not classified as a net current asset) before the deduction of mortgages or borrowings as shown in the company's latest annual report and accounts.

29break fee arrangement

an arrangement falling within the description in LR 10.2.6A R.

building block

(as defined in the PD Regulation) a list of additional information requirements, not included in one of the schedules, to be added to one or more schedules, as the case may be, depending on the type of instrument and/or transaction for which a prospectus or base prospectus is drawn up.

business day

(1)

(in relation to anything done or to be done in (including to be submitted to a place in) any part of the United Kingdom), any day which is not a Saturday or Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday in that part of the United Kingdom;

(2)

(in relation to anything done or to be done by reference to a market outside the United Kingdom) any day on which that market is normally open for business.

44

44

CARD

Consolidated Admissions and Reporting Directive.

certificate representing certain securities

the investment specified in article 80 of the Regulated Activities Order (Certificates representing certain securities), which is in summary: a certificate or other instrument which confers contractual or property rights (other than rights consisting of options):

(a)

in respect of any share, debenture, alternative debenture,19government and public security or warrant held by a person other than the person on whom the rights are conferred by the certificate or instrument; and

19

(b)

the transfer of which may be effected without requiring the consent of that person;

but excluding any certificate or other instrument which confers rights in respect of two or more investments issued by different persons or in respect of two or more different government and public securities issued by the same person.

certificate representing debt securities

a certificate representing certain securities where the certificate or other instrument confers rights in respect of debentures, alternative debentures,19 or government and public securities.

certificate representing equity securities

a certificate representing certain securities where the certificate or other instrument confers rights in respect of equity securities.

certificate representing shares

a certificate representing certain securities where the certificate or other instrument confers rights in respect of equity shares.30

charge

(in relation to securitised derivatives) means any payment identified under the terms and conditions of the securitised derivatives.

Chinese wall

an arrangement that requires information held by a person in the course of carrying on one part of its business to be withheld from, or not to be used for, persons with or for whom it acts in the course of carrying on another part of its business.

circular

any document issued to holders of listed securities including notices of meetings but excluding prospectuses, listing particulars, annual reports and accounts, interim reports, proxy cards and dividend or interest vouchers.

class

securities the rights attaching to which are or will be identical and which form a single issue or issues.

class 1 acquisition

a class 1 transaction that involves an acquisition by the relevant listed company or its subsidiary undertaking.

class 1 circular

a circular relating to a class 1 transaction or a transaction which must comply with the requirements of a class 1 transaction38.

class 1 disposal

a class 1 transaction that consists of a disposal by the relevant listed company or its subsidiary undertaking.

class 1 transaction

a transaction classified as a class 1 transaction under LR 10.

class 2 transaction

a transaction classified as a class 2 transaction under LR 10 .29

class tests

the tests set out in LR 10 Annex 1(and for certain specialist companies, those tests as modified or added to by LR 10.7), which are used to determine how a transaction is to be classified for the purposes of the listing rules.

closed-ended

(in relation to investment entities) an investment company which is not an open-ended investment company.

5closed-ended investment fund

an entity:

(a)

which is an undertaking with limited liability, including a company, limited partnership, or limited liability partnership; and

(b)

whose primary object is investing and managing its assets (including pooled funds contributed by holders of its listed securities):

(i) in property of any description; and

(ii) with a view to spreading investment risk.

43

43

COBS9

the Conduct of Business sourcebook, from 1 November 20079.

3Combined Code

in relation to an issuerthe Combined Code on Corporate Governance published in June 2008 by the Financial Reporting Council.18

18

company

any body corporate.

competent authority

(in relation to the functions referred to in Part VI of the Act):

(a)

the authority designated under Schedule 8 to the Act (transfer of functions under Part VI (Official listing)) as responsible for performing those functions under the Act; for the time being the FCA in its capacity as such; or

(b)

an authority exercising functions corresponding to those functions under the laws of another EEA State.

connected client

in relation to a sponsor or securities house, any client of the sponsor or securities house who is:

(a)

a partner, director, employee or controller (as defined in section 422 of the Act) of the sponsor or securities house or of an undertaking described in paragraph (d);

(b)

the spouse , civil partner 2or child of any individual described in paragraph (a);

(c)

a person in his capacity as trustee of a private trust (other than a pension scheme or an employees' share scheme) the beneficiaries of which include any person described in paragraph (a) or (b); or

(d)

an undertaking which in relation to the sponsor or securities house is a group undertaking.

connected person

(in DTR and LR in relation to a person discharging managerial responsibilities within an issuer) has the meaning given to “person closely associated” in article 3(1)(26) of the Market Abuse Regulation.43

Consolidated Admissions and Reporting Directive

Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the admission of securities to official stock exchange listing and on information to be published on those securities (No 2001/34/EC).

constitution

memorandum and articles of association or equivalent constitutional document.

contingent liability investment

a derivative under the terms of which the client will or may be liable to make further payments (other than charges, and whether or not secured by margin) when the transaction falls to be completed or upon the earlier closing out of his position.

contract of significance

a contract which represents in amount or value (or annual amount or value) a sum equal to 1% or more, calculated on a group basis where relevant, of:

(1)

in the case of a capital transaction or a transaction of which the principal purpose or effect is the granting of credit, the aggregate of the group's share capital and reserves; or

(2)

in other cases, the total annual purchases, sales, payments or receipts, as the case may be, of the group.

36controlling shareholder

means any person who exercises or controls on their own or together with any person with whom they are acting in concert, 30% or more of the votes able to be cast on all or substantially all matters at general meetings of the company. For the purposes of calculating voting rights, the following voting rights are to be disregarded:49

(1)

any voting rights which such a person exercises (or controls the exercise of) independently in its capacity as: bare trustee, investment manager, collective investment undertaking or a long-term insurer in respect of its linked long-term business if no associate of that person interferes by giving direct or indirect instructions, or in any other way, in the exercise of such voting rights (except to the extent any such person confers or collaborates with such an associate which also acts in its capacity as investment manager, collective investment undertaking or long-term insurer); or49

(2)

any voting rights which a person may hold (or control the exercise of) solely in relation to the direct performance, by way of business, of:49

(a)

underwriting the issue or sale of securities; or49

(b)

placing securities, where the person provides a firm commitment to acquire any securities which it does not place; or 49

(c)

acquiring securities from existing shareholders or the issuer pursuant to an agreement to procure third-party purchases of securities;49

and where the conditions below are satisfied:49

(i)

the activities set out in (2)(a) to (c) are performed in the ordinary course of business;49

(ii)

the securities to which the voting rights attach are held for a consecutive period of 5 trading days or less, beginning with the first trading day on which the securities are held;49

(iii)

the voting rights are not exercised within the period the securities are held; and49

(iv)

no attempt is made directly or indirectly by the person to intervene in (or attempt to intervene in) or exert (or attempt to exert) influence on the management of the issuer within the period the securities are held.49

convertible securities

a security which is:

(1)

convertible into, or exchangeable for, other securities; or

(2)

accompanied by a warrant33 or option33 to subscribe for or purchase other securities.

3333

deal

a dealing transaction;

dealing

(in accordance with paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 to the Act (Regulated activities)) buying, selling, subscribing for or underwriting investments or offering or agreeing to do so, either as principal or as an43 agent, including, in the case of an investment which is a contract of insurance, carrying out the contract.

debt security

debentures, alternative debentures,19 debenture stock, loan stock, bonds, certificates of deposit or any other instrument creating or acknowledging indebtedness.7

6deferred bonus

any arrangement pursuant to the terms of which an employee or director may receive a bonus (including cash or any security) in respect of service and/or performance in a period not exceeding the length of the relevant financial year notwithstanding that the bonus may, subject only to the person remaining a director or employee of the group, be receivable by the person after the end of the period to which the award relates.

6defined benefit scheme

in relation to a director, means a pension scheme which is not a money purchase scheme.

depositary

a person that issues certificates representing certain securities that have been admitted to listing33 or are the subject of an application for admission to listing.

33

7DEPP

the Decision Procedure and Penalties manual

designated professional body

a professional body designated by the Treasury under section 326 of the Act (Designation of professional bodies) for the purposes of Part XX of the Act (Provision of Financial Services by Members of the Professions); as at 21 June 2001 the following professional bodies have been designated in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Designated Professional Bodies) Order 2001 (SI 2001/1226):

(a) The Law Society (England and Wales);

(b) The Law Society of Scotland;

(c) The Law Society of Northern Ireland;

(d) The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales;

(e) The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland;

(f) The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland;

(g) The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants;

(h) The Institute of Actuaries.

director

(in accordance with section 417(1)(a) of the Act) a person occupying in relation to it the position of a director (by whatever name called) and, in relation to an issuer which is not a body corporate, a person with corresponding powers and duties.

43disclosure guidance

the guidance contained in DTR 1 to 3

disclosure requirements43

1616

articles 17, 18 and 19 of the Market Abuse Regulation.43

1616

document

any piece of recorded information, including (in accordance with section 417(1) of the Act (Interpretation)) information recorded in any form; in relation to information recorded otherwise than in legible form, references to its production include references to producing a copy of the information in legible form.

document viewing facility

a location identified on the FCA website where the public can inspect documents referred to in the listing rules as being documents to be made available at the document viewing facility.

DTR

the Disclosure Guidance43 and Transparency Rules39 sourcebook containing the disclosure guidance43, transparency rules,39corporate governance rules and the rules relating to primary information providers.1639

1639

39E-Commerce Directive

the Council Directive of 8 June 2002 on legal aspects of information society services, in particular electronic commerce, in the Internal Market (No 2000/31/EC).

EEA State

(in accordance with paragraph 8 of Schedule 3 to the Act (EEA Passport Rights)) a State which is a contracting party to the agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2 May 1992, as it has effect for the time being; as at 1 May 2004, the following are the EEA States: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

7EG

the Enforcement Guide

employee

an individual:

(a)

who is employed or appointed by a person in connection with that person's business, whether under a contract of service or for services or otherwise; or

(b)

whose services, under an arrangement between that person and a third party, are placed at the disposal and under the control of that person;

but excluding an appointed representative or, where applicable, a tied agent9 of that person.

employees' share scheme

has the same meaning as in section 116615 of the Companies Act 200615.7

668668

equity security

equity shares and securities convertible into equity shares.

equity share20

shares comprised in a company's equity share capital.

equity share capital

(for a company), its issued share capital excluding any part of that capital which, neither as respects dividends nor as respects capital, carries any right to participate beyond a specified amount in a distribution.

6equivalent document

a document containing information equivalent to a prospectus for the purposes of PR 1.2.2R (2) or (3) or PR 1.2.3R (3) or (4).38

38ESMA

European Securities and Markets Authority.

ESMA Prospectus Recommendations40

40

the ESMA update of the CESR recommendations: The consistent implementation of Commission Regulation (EC) No 809/2004 implementing the Prospectus Directive (ESMA/2013/319).40

40

exercise notice

(in relation to securitised derivatives), a document that notifies the issuer of a holder's intention to exercise its rights under the securitised derivative.

exercise price

(in relation to securitised derivatives), the price stipulated by the issuer at which the holder can buy or sell the underlying instrument from or to the issuer.

exercise time

(in relation to securitised derivatives), the time stipulated by the issuer by which the holder must exercise their rights.

expiration date

(in relation to securitised derivatives), the date stipulated by the issuer on which the holder's rights in respect of the securitised derivative ends.

27external management company

has the meaning in PR 5.5.3A R (i.e., in relation to an issuer that is a company which is not a collective investment undertaking, a person who is appointed by the issuer (whether under a contract of service, a contract for services or any other commercial arrangement) to perform functions that would ordinarily be performed by officers of the issuer and to make recommendations in relation to strategic matters).

extraction

(in relation to mineral companies), includes mining, quarrying or similar activities and the reworking of mine tailings or waste dumps.

FCA

the Financial Conduct Authority.

final terms

the document containing the final terms of each issue which is intended to be listed.

financial information table

financial information presented in a tabular form that covers the reporting period set out in LR 13.5.13 R in relation to the entities set out in LR 13.5.14 R, and to the extent relevant LR 13.5.17A R30.

30

group

(1)

except in LR 6.4.3G, LR 6.5.3G, LR 6.14.3R, LR 6.14.4G49, LR 8.7.8R (10),LR 14.2.2 R, LR 14.2.3A G, LR 18.2.8 R and LR 18.2.9A G36, 6an issuer and its subsidiary undertakings (if any); and

36123636

(2)

in LR 6.4.3G, LR 6.5.3G, LR 6.14.3R, LR 6.14.4G49, LR 8.7.8R (10), 6LR 14.2.2 R, LR 14.2.3A G, LR 18.2.8 R and LR 18.2.9A G36as defined in section 421 of the Act.

36123636

guarantee

(in relation to securitised derivatives), either:

(1)

a guarantee given in accordance with LR 19.2.2 R (3)(if any); or

(2)

any other guarantee of the issue of securitised derivatives.

guidance

guidance given by the FCA under the Act.

Handbook

the FCA's Handbook of rules and guidance.28

28holding company

(as defined in section 1159(1) of the Companies Act 2006 (Meaning of "subsidiary" etc) (in relation to another body corporate ("S")) a body corporate which:

(a)

holds a majority of the voting rights in S; or

(b)

is a member of S and has the right to appoint or remove a majority of its board of directors; or

(c)

is a member of S and controls alone, under an agreement with other shareholders and members, a majority of the voting rights in S.

Home Member State or Home State

(as defined in section 102C of the Act) in relation to an issuer of transferable securities, the EEA State which is the "home Member State" for the purposes of the prospectus directive (which is to be determined in accordance with Article 2.1(m) of that directive.

Host Member State or Host State

(as defined in Article 2.1(n) of the prospectus directive) the State where an offer to the public is made or admission to trading is sought, when different from the home Member State.

IAS

International Accounting Standards.39

36independent director

a director whom an applicant49 or listed company has determined to be independent under the UK Corporate Governance Code.

36independent shareholder

any person entitled to vote on the election of directors of a listed company that is not a controlling shareholder of the listed company.

39information society service

an information society service, as defined by article 2(a) of the E-Commerce Directive and article 1(2) of the Technical Standards and Regulations Directive (98/34/EC), which is in summary any service normally provided for remuneration, at a distance, by means of electronic equipment for the processing (including the digital compression) and storage of data at the individual request of a service recipient.

inside information

as described in article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation45.

43

43

intermediaries offer

a marketing of securities already or not yet in issue, by means of an offer by, or on behalf of, the issuer to intermediaries for them to allocate to their own clients.

International Accounting Standards

international accounting standards within the meaning of EC Regulation No 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 July 2002 as adopted from time to time by the European Commission in accordance with that Regulation.

in the money

(in relation to securitised derivatives):

(a)

where the holder has the right to buy the underlying instrument or instruments from the issuer, when the settlement price is greater than the exercise price; or

(b)

where the holder has the right to sell the underlying instrument or instruments to the issuer, when the exercise price is greater than the settlement price.5

10investment entity

an entity whose primary object is investing and managing its assets with a view to spreading or otherwise managing investment risk.

investment manager

a person who, on behalf of a client, manages investments and is not a wholly-owned subsidiary of the client.5

5

investment trust

a company which:

40

(a)

is approved by the Commissioners for HM Revenue and Customs33 under sections 1158 and 1159 of the Corporation Tax Act 201040 (or, in the case of a newly formed company, has declared its intention to conduct its affairs so as to obtain such approval); or

3340

(b)

is resident in an EEA State other than the United Kingdom and would qualify for such approval if resident in the United Kingdom.

issuer

any company or other legal person or undertaking (including a public sector issuer), any class of whose securities has been admitted to listing33 or is the subject of an application for admission to listing33.

3333

29limited liability partnership

(a) a body corporate incorporated under the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000;

(b) a body corporate incorporated under legislation having the equivalent effect to the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000.

list of sponsors

the list of sponsors maintained by theFCA in accordance with section 88(3)(a) of the Act.

listed

admitted to the official list maintained by the FCA in accordance with section 74 of the Act.

listed company

a company that has any class of its securitieslisted.

listing particulars

(in accordance with section 79(2) of the Act), a document in such form and containing such information as may be specified in listing rules.

listing rules

(in accordance with sections 73A(1) and 1673A(2) of the Act) rules16relating to admission to the official list.

1616

London Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange Plc.

long-term incentive scheme

any arrangement (other than a retirement benefit plan, a deferred bonus or any other arrangement that is an element of an executive director's remuneration package) which may involve the receipt of any asset (including cash or any security) by a director or employee of the group:

(1)

which includes one or more conditions in respect of service and/or performance to be satisfied over more than one financial year; and

(2)

pursuant to which the group may incur (other than in relation to the establishment and administration of the arrangement) either cost or a liability, whether actual or contingent.

LR

the sourcebook containing the listing rules.29

45

major subsidiary undertaking

a subsidiary undertaking that represents 25% or more of the aggregate of the gross assets or profits (after deducting all charges except taxation) of the group.

45

43Market Abuse Regulation

Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on market abuse (market abuse regulation) and repealing Directive 2003/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council46 and Commission Directives 2003/124/EC, 2003/125/EC and 2004/72/EC.

45

member

(in relation to a profession) a person who is entitled to practise that profession and, in practising it, is subject to the rules of the relevant designated professional body, whether or not he is a member of that body.

mineral company

a company or group, whose principal activity is, or is planned to be, the extraction of mineral resources (which may or may not include exploration for mineral resources).

mineral expert's report

a competent person's36 report prepared in accordance with paragraph 133 of36 the ESMA Prospectus Recommendations.40CESR recommendations30

40

mineral resources

include metallic and non-metallic ores, mineral concentrates, industrial minerals, construction aggregates, mineral oils, natural gases, hydrocarbons and solid fuels including coal.

miscellaneous securities20

securities which are not:

(a)

shares; or

(b)

debt securities; or

(c)

asset backed securities; or

(d)

certificates representing debt securities; or

(e)

convertible securities which convert to debt securities; or

(f)

convertible securities which convert to equity securities; or

(g)

convertible securities which are exchangeable for securities of another company; or

(h)

certificates representing certain securities; or

(i)

securitised derivatives.

43

43

30modified report

30

an accountant's or 30auditor's report:

(a)

in which the opinion is modified; or30

30

(b)

which contains an emphasis-of-matter paragraph.30

30

6money purchase scheme

in relation to a director, means a pension scheme under which all of the benefits that may become payable to or in respect of the director are money purchase benefits.

net annual rent

(in relation to a property) the current income or income estimated by the valuer:

(1)

ignoring any special receipts or deductions arising from the property;

(2)

excluding Value Added Tax and before taxation (including tax on profits and any allowances for interest on capital or loans); and

(3)

after making deductions for superior rents (but not for amortisation) and any disbursements including, if appropriate, expenses of managing the property and allowances to maintain it in a condition to command its rent.

49

non-EEA State

a country or state that is not an EEA State.

OECD state guaranteed issuer

an issuer of debt securities whose obligations in relation to those securities33 have been guaranteed by a member state of the OECD.

33

offer

an offer of transferable securities to the public.

offer for sale

an invitation to the public by, or on behalf of, a third party to purchase securities of the issuer already in issue or allotted (and may be in the form of an invitation to tender at or above a stated minimum price).

offer for subscription

an invitation to the public by, or on behalf of, an issuer to subscribe for securities of the issuer not yet in issue or allotted (and may be in the form of an invitation to tender at or above a stated minimum price).

offer of transferable securities to the public

(as defined in section 102B of the Act), in summary:

(a)

a communication to any person which presents sufficient information on:

  • (i) the transferable securities to be offered, and
  • (ii) the terms on which they are offered,

to enable an investor to decide to buy or subscribe for the securities in question;

(b)

which is made in any form or by any means;

(c)

including the placing of securities through a financial intermediary;

(d)

but not including a communication in connection with trading on:

  • (i) a regulated market;
  • (ii) a multilateral trading facility; or
  • (iii) any market prescribed by an order under section 130A of the Act.

Note: This is only a summary, to see the full text of the definition, readers should consult section 102B of the Act.

offeror

(a)

in LR 5.2.10 R to LR 5.2.11D R36, an offeror as defined in the Takeover Code; and

(b)

elsewhere in LR, a person36who makes an offer of transferable securities to the public.

36

official list

the list maintained by the FCA in accordance with section 74(1) of the Act for the purposes of Part VI of the Act.

open-ended investment company33

33

as defined in section 236 of the Act (Open-ended investment companies).

open offer

an invitation to existing securities holders to subscribe or purchase securities in proportion to their holdings, which is not made by means of a renounceable letter (or other negotiable document).31

31operational objectives

as defined in section 1B(3) of the Act.

option

the investment, specified in article 83 of the Regulated Activities Order (Options), which is an option to acquire or dispose of:

  • (a) a designated investment (other than a P2P agreement,37 an option); or
  • (b) currency of the United Kingdom or of any other country or territory; or
  • (c) palladium, platinum, gold or silver; or
  • (d) an option to acquire or dispose of an option specified in (a), (b) or (c).

overseas

outside the United Kingdom.

overseas company

a company incorporated outside the United Kingdom.

overseas investment exchange

an investment exchange which has neither its head office nor its registered office in the United Kingdom.

parent undertaking

as defined in section 116215 of the Companies Act 200615.

668668

Part 6 rules

(in accordance with section 73A(1) of the Act) rules made for the purposes of Part 6 of the Act.

PD

prospectus directive.

PD Regulation

Regulation number 809/2004 of the European Commission

percentage ratio

(in relation to a transaction) the figure, expressed as a percentage, that results from applying a calculation under a class test22 to the transaction.

22

person

(in accordance with the Interpretation Act 1978) any person, including a body of persons corporate or unincorporate (that is, a natural person, a legal person and, for example, a partnership).

person discharging managerial responsibilities

as defined in article 3(1)(25) of the Market Abuse Regulation45.

person exercising significant influence

in relation to a listed company, a person or entity which exercises significant influence over that listed company.

6

placing

a marketing of securities already in issue but not listed or not yet in issue, to specified persons or clients of the sponsor or any securities house assisting in the placing, which does not involve an offer to the public or to existing holders of the issuer'ssecurities generally.

PR

the sourcebook containing the Prospectus Rules.

preference share

a share conferring preference as to income or return of capital which does not form part of the equity share capital of a company.

20

16premium listing

(a)

in relation to equity shares20 (other those of a closed-ended investment fund or of an open-ended investment company), means a listing where the issuer is required to comply with those requirements in LR 6 (Additional requirements for premium listing (commercial company)) and the20 other requirements in the listing rules that are expressed to apply to such securities with a premium listing;

(b)

in relation to equity shares20 of a closed-ended investment fund, means a listing where the issuer is required to comply with the requirements in LR 15 (Closed-Ended Investment Funds: Premium listing) and other requirements in the listing rules that are expressed to apply to such securities with a premium listing;

(c)

in relation to equity shares20 of an open-ended investment company, means a listing where the issuer is required to comply with LR 16 (Open-ended investment companies: Premium listing) and other requirements in the listing rules that are expressed to apply to such securities with a premium listing.

premium listing (commercial company)

a premium listing of equity shares21 (other than those of a closed-ended investment fund or of an open-ended investment company).

21

premium listing (investment company)

a premium listing of equity shares21 of a closed-ended investment fund or of an open-ended investment company.39

21

39primary information provider

a person approved by the FCA under section 89P of the Act.

probable reserves

(1)

in respect of mineral companies primarily involved in the extraction of oil and gas resources, those reserves which are not yet proven but which, on the available evidence and taking into account technical and economic factors, have a better than 50% chance of being produced; and

(2)

in respect of mineral companies other than those primarily involved in the extraction of oil and gas resources, those measured and/or indicated mineral resources, which are not yet proven but of which detailed technical and economic studies have demonstrated that extraction can be justified at the time of the determination and under specified economic conditions.

profit estimate

(as defined in the PD Regulation) a profit forecast for a financial period which has expired and for which results have not yet been published.

profit forecast

(as defined in the PD Regulation) a form of words which expressly states or by implication indicates a figure or a minimum or maximum figure for the likely level of profits or losses for the current financial period and/or financial periods subsequent to that period, or contains data from which a calculation of such a figure for future profits or losses may be made, even if no particular figure is mentioned and the word "profit" is not used.

43

43

3333

property

freehold, heritable or leasehold property.

property company

a company primarily engaged in property33 activities including:

33

(1)

the holding of properties (directly or indirectly) for letting and retention as investments;

(2)

the development of properties for letting and retention as investments;

(3)

the purchase and development of properties for subsequent sale; or

(4)

the purchase of land for development properties for retention as investments.5

property valuation report

a property valuation report prepared by an independent expert in accordance with:6

6

(1)

for an issuer incorporated in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, the Appraisal and Valuation Standards (5th edition) issued by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors; or6

(2)

for an issuer incorporated in any other place, either the standards referred to in paragraph (1) of this definition or the International Valuation Standards (7th edition) issued by the International Valuation Standards Committee.6

prospectus

a prospectus required under the prospectus directive.

prospectus directive

the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading (No 2003/71/EC).

prospectus rules

(as defined in section 73A(4) of the Act) rules expressed to relate to transferable securities.33

33

proven reserves

(1)

in respect of mineral companies primarily involved in the extraction of oil and gas resources, those reserves which, on the available evidence and taking into account technical and economic factors, have a better than 90% chance of being produced; and

(2)

in respect of mineral companies other than those primarily involved in the extraction of oil and gas resources, those measured mineral resources of which detailed technical and economic studies have demonstrated that extraction can be justified at the time of the determination, and under specified economic conditions.

public international body

the African Development bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, the Council of Europe Development Bank6, the European Atomic Energy Community, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Company for the Financing of Railroad Stock, the EU,17 the European Investment Bank, the Inter-American Development bank, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, the International Monetary Fund, the Nordic Investment bank.

61717

public sector issuer

states and their regional and local authorities, state monopolies, state finance organisations, public international bodies, statutory bodies and OECD state guaranteed issuers.

recognised scheme

a scheme recognised under:

(a)

section 264 of the Act (Schemes constituted in other EEA States); or

(b)

[deleted]35

35

(c)

section 272 of the Act (Individually recognised overseas schemes).

registration document

a registration document referred to in PR 2.2.2 R.

Regulated Activities Order

the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities)

Order 2001 (SI 2001/544).9

regulated market

a multilateral system operated and/or managed by a market operator, which brings together or facilitates the bringing together of multiple third-party buying and selling interests in financial instruments -33 in the system and in accordance with its non-discretionary rules -33in a way that results in a contract, in respect of the financial instruments admitted to trading under its rules and/or systems, and which is authorised and functions regularly and in accordance with47 Title III of MiFID.9

[Note: article 4(1)(21)47 of MiFID]33

regulatory information service or RIS

(a) a primary information provider; or

(b) an incoming information society service that has its establishment in an EEA State other than the United Kingdom and that disseminates regulated information in accordance with the minimum standards set out in article 12 of the TD implementing Directive.41

(c) [deleted]41

39394141

related party

as defined in LR 11.1.4 R.

related party circular

a circular relating to a related party transaction.

related party transaction

as defined in LR 11.1.5 R.

retail securitised derivative

a securitised derivative which is not a specialist securitised derivative; in this definition, a "specialist securitised derivative" is a securitisedderivative which, in accordance with the listing rules, is required to be admitted to listing with a clear statement on any disclosure document that the issue is intended for a purchase by only investors who are particularly knowledgeable in investment matters.

reverse takeover

a transaction classified as a reverse takeover under LR 5.6.28

28

RIE

recognised investment exchange.

rights issue

an offer to existing security holders to subscribe or purchase further securities in proportion to their holdings made by means of the issue of a renounceable letter (or other negotiable document) which may be traded (as “nil paid” rights) for a period before payment for the securities is due.

rule

(in accordance with section 417(1) of the Act (Definitions)) a rule made by the FCA under the Act, including:

(a) a Principle; and

(b) an evidential provision.

schedule33

33

(as defined in the PD Regulation) a list of minimum information requirements adapted to the particular nature of the different types of issuers and/or the different securities involved.

scientific research based company

a company primarily involved in the laboratory research and development of chemical or biological products or processes or any other similar innovative science based company.

securities note

a securities note referred to in PR 2.2.2 R.

securitised derivative

an option or contract for differences which, in either case, is listed under LR 19 (including such an option or contract for differences33 which is also a debenture).

33

security

(in accordance with section 102A of the Act) anything which has been, or may be admitted to the official list.

settlement price

(in relation to securitised derivatives), the reference price or prices of the underlying instrument or instruments stipulated by the issuer for the purposes of calculating its obligations to the holder.

shadow director

as in sub-paragraph (b) of the definition of director in section 417(1) of the Act.

share

(in accordance with section 540(1)15 of the Companies Act 200615) a share in the share capital of a company, and includes:

6681566815

(a)

stock (except where a distinction between shares and stock is express or implied); and

(b)

preference shares.

49shell company

as defined in LR 5.6.5AR.

specialist investor

an investor who is particularly knowledgeable in investment matters.

specialist securities

securities which, because of their nature, are normally bought and traded by a limited number of investors who are particularly knowledgeable in investment matters.

specialist securitised derivative

a securitised derivative which because of its nature is normally bought and traded by a limited number of investors who are particularly knowledgeable in investment matters.

specified investment

any of the following investments specified in Part III of the Regulated Activities Order (Specified Investments):

(a)

deposit (article 74);

(aa)

electronic money (article 74A);

(b)

contract of insurance (article 75); for the purposes of the permission regime, this is sub-divided into:

and then further sub-divided into classes of contract of insurance;

(c)

share (article 76);

(d)

debenture (article 77);19

(da)

alternative debenture (article 77A);19

(e)

government and public security (article 78);

(f)

warrant (article 79);

(g)

certificate representing certain securities (article 80);

(h)

unit (article 81);

(i)

stakeholder pension scheme (article 82);24

24(ia)

emissions auction product (article 82A);

(j)

option (article 83); for the purposes of the permission regime, this is sub-divided into:

(k)

future (article 84); for the purposes of the permission regime, this is sub-divided into:

(l)

contract for differences (article 85); for the purposes of the permission regime, this is sub-divided into:

(m)

underwriting capacity of a Lloyd's syndicate (article 86(1));

(n)

membership of a Lloyd's syndicate (article 86(2));

(o)

funeral plan contract (article 87);

(oa)

regulated mortgage contract (article 61(3);

23

(ob)

home reversion plan (article 63B(3));

23

(oc)

home purchase plan (article 63F(3));

23

(od)

regulated sale and rent back agreement (article 63J(3));

(p)

rights to or interests in investments (article 89).

sponsor

a person approved, under section 88 of the Act by the FCA, as a sponsor.38

38sponsor declaration

a declaration submitted by a sponsor to the FCA as required under LR 8.4.3 R (Application for listing), LR 8.4.9 R (Further application for listing), LR 8.4.13 R (Production of circular) or LR 8.4.14 R (Transfer between listing category).

12sponsor service

a service relating to a matter referred to in LR 8.2 that a sponsor provides or is requested or appointed to provide including32 preparatory work that a sponsor may undertake before a decision is taken as to whether or not it will act as sponsor for a listed32company or applicant33 or in relation to a particular transaction, and including all the sponsor's communications with the FCA33 in connection with the service32. But nothing in this definition is to be taken as requiring a sponsor when requested32 to agree to act as a sponsor for a company or in relation to a transaction.

323233

standard listing

in relation to securities, means a listing that is not a premium listing.

20standard listing (shares)

a standard listing of shares other than preference shares that are specialist securities.

state finance organisation

a legal person other than a company:

(1)

which is a national of an EEA State;

(2)

which is set up by or pursuant to a special law;

(3)

whose activities are governed by that law and consist solely of raising funds under state control through the issue of debt securities;

(4)

which is financed by means of the resources they have raised and resources provided by the EEA State; and

(5)

the debt securities issued by it are considered by the law of the relevant EEA State as securities issued or guaranteed by that state.

state monopoly

a company or other legal person which is a national of an EEA State and which:

(1)

in carrying on its business benefits from a monopoly right granted by an EEA state; and

(2)

is set up by or pursuant to a special law or whose borrowings are unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by an EEA state or one of the federated states of an EEA state.

subsidiary undertaking

as defined in section 116215 of the Companies Act 200615.

6681566815

substantial shareholder

as defined in LR 11.1.4A R.256

625

summary

(in relation to a prospectus) the summary included in the prospectus.

SUP

the Supervision manual.

supplementary listing particulars

(in accordance with section 81(1) of the Act), supplementary listing particulars containing details of the change or new matter.

supplementary prospectus

a supplementary prospectus containing details of a new factor, mistake or inaccuracy.

Takeover Code

the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers issued by the TakeoverPanel.

target

the subject of a class 1 transaction or reverse takeover28.

tender offer

an offer by a company to purchase all or some of a class of its listedequity securities at a maximum or fixed price (that may be established by means of a formula) that is:

20

(1)

communicated to all holders of that class by means of a circular or advertisement in two national newspapers;

(2)

open to all holders of that class on the same terms for at least 7 days; and

(3)

open for acceptance by all holders of that class pro rata to their existing holdings.25

25trading day

a day included in the calendar of trading days published by the FCA at www.fca.org.uk.33

33

43

14

43

transferable security

(as defined in section 102A of the Act) anything which is a transferable security for the purposes of MiFID9, other than money-market instruments for the purposes of that directive which have a maturity of less than 12 months.

9

26transparency rules

in accordance with sections 73A(1) and 89A of the Act, rules relating to the notification and dissemination of information in respect of issuers of transferable securities and relating to major shareholdings.

treasury shares

shares which meet the conditions set out in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection 724(5) of the Companies Act 2006.15

66866815

trust deed

a trust deed or equivalent document securing or constituting debt securities.

UK

United Kingdom.

18UK Corporate Governance Code

the UK Corporate Governance Code published in April 2016 48 by the Financial Reporting Council, available at: https://www.frc.org.uk/directors/corporate-governance-and-stewardship/uk-corporate-governance-code48.

40404240

underlying instrument

(in relation to securitised derivatives) means either:

(1)

if the securitised derivative is an option or debt security with the characteristics of an option, any of the underlying investments listed in article 83 of the Regulated Activities Order; or

(2)

if the securitised derivative is a contract for differences or debt security with the characteristics of a contract for differences, any factor by reference to which a profit or loss under article 85 of the Regulated Activities Order can be calculated.

unrecognised scheme

a collective investment scheme which is neither a recognised scheme nor a scheme that is constituted as an authorised unit trust scheme or an authorised contractual scheme.34

vendor consideration placing

a marketing, by or on behalf of vendors, of securities that have been allotted as consideration for an acquisition.

venture capital trust

a company which is, or which is seeking to become, approved as a venture capital trust under section 842AA of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988.

warrant

the investment, specified in article 79 of the Regulated Activities Order (Instruments giving entitlements to investments), which is in summary: a warrant or other instrument entitling the holder to subscribe for a share, debenture, alternative debenture19 or government and public security.

COLL 6.3.6GRP

Table: This table belongs to COLL 6.3.2 G (2) (a) and COLL 6.3.3 R (Valuation)1.

Valuation and pricing

1

The valuation of scheme property

(1)

Where possible, investments should be valued using a reputable source. The reliability of the source of prices should be kept under regular review.

(2)

For some or all of the investments comprising the scheme property, different prices may quoted according to whether they are being bought (offer prices) or sold (bid prices). The valuation of a single-priced authorised fund should reflect the mid-market value of such investments. In the case of a dual-priced authorised fund, the issue basis of the valuation will be carried out by reference to the offer prices of investments and the cancellation basis by reference to the bid prices of those same investments. The prospectus should explain how investments will be valued for which a single price is quoted for both buying and selling.1

1

3(2A)

Schemes investing in approved money-market instruments5should value such instruments on an amortised cost basis on condition that:5

55

[Note:CESR's UCITS eligible assets guidelines with respect to article 4(2) of the UCITS eligible assets Directive]

(2B)

Short-term money market funds may value approved money-market instruments on an amortised cost basis.7

[Note: paragraph 21 of CESR's guidelines on a common definition of European money market funds]7

(3)

Any part of the scheme property of an authorised fund that is not an investment should be valued at a fair value, but for immovables this is subject to COLL 5.6.20 R (3) (f) (Standing independent valuer and valuation).

(4)

For the purposes of (2) and (3), any fiscal charges, commissions, professional fees or other charges that were paid, or would be payable on acquiring or disposing of the investment or other part of the scheme property should, in the case of a single-priced authorised fund,2 be excluded from the value of an investment or other part of the scheme property. In the case of a dual-priced authorised fund, any such payments should be added to the issue basis of the valuation, or subtracted from the cancellation basis of the valuation, as appropriate. Alternatively, the prospectus of a dual-priced authorised fund may prescribe any other method of calculating unitprices that ensures an equivalent treatment of the effect of these payments.2

(5)

Where the authorised fund manager has reasonable grounds to believe that:

it should value an investment at a price which, in its opinion, reflects a fair and reasonable price for that investment (the fair value price);

(6)

The circumstances which may give rise to a fair value price being used include:

  • no recent trade in the security concerned; or
  • the occurrence of a significant event since the most recent closure of the market where the price of the security is taken.
In (b), a significant event is one that means the most recent price of a security or a basket of securities is materially different to the price that it is reasonably believed would exist at the valuation point had the relevant market been open.

(7)

In determining whether to use such a fair value price , the authorised fund manager should include in his consideration:

4(7A)

Where the authorised fund manager, the depositary or the standing independent valuer have reasonable grounds to believe that the most recent valuation of an immovable does not reflect the current value of that immovable, the authorised fund manager should consult and agree with the standing independent valuer a fair and reasonable value for the immovable.

(8)

The authorised fund manager should document the basis of valuation (including any fair value pricing policy) and, where appropriate, the basis of any methodology and ensure that the procedures are applied consistently and fairly.

(9)

Where a unit price is determined using properly applied fair value prices in accordance with policies in (8), subsequent information that indicates the price should have been different from that calculated will not normally give rise to an instance of incorrect pricing.

2

The pricing controls of the authorised fund manager

(1)

An authorised fund manager needs to be able to demonstrate that it has effective controls over its calculations of unit prices.

(2)

The controls referred to in (1) should ensure that:

  • asset prices are accurate and up to date;
  • investment 1transactions are accurately and promptly reflected in valuations;
  • the components of the valuation (including stock, cash, and units in issue1), are regularly reconciled to their source or prime records and any reconciling items resolved promptly and debtors reviewed for recoverability;
  • the sources of prices not obtained from the main pricing source are recorded and regularly reviewed;
  • compliance with the investment and borrowing powers is regularly reviewed;
  • dividends are accounted for as soon as securities1 are quoted ex-dividend (unless it is prudent to account for them on receipt):
  • fixed interest dividends, interest and expenses are accrued at each valuation point1;
  • tax positions are regularly reviewed and adjusted, if necessary;
  • reasonable tolerances are set for movements in the key elements of a valuation and movements outside these tolerances are investigated;5
  • the fund manager regularly reviews the portfolio valuation for accuracy5; and5
  • the valuation of OTC derivatives is accurate and up to date and in compliance with the methods agreed with the depositary.5

(3)

In exercising its pricing controls, the authorised fund manager may exercise reasonable discretion in determining the appropriate frequency of the operation of the controls and may choose a longer interval, if appropriate, given the level of activity on the authorised fund1or the materiality of any effect on the price.

(4)

Evidence of the exercise of the pricing controls should be retained.

(5)

Evidence of persistent or repetitive errors in relation to these matters, and in particular any evidence of a pattern of errors working in an authorised fund manager's favour, will make demonstrating effective controls more difficult.

(6)

Where the pricing1function is delegated to a third party, COLL 6.6.15 R (1) (Committees and delegation) will apply.

3

The depositary's review of the authorised fund manager's systems and controls

(1)

This section provides details of the types of checks a depositary should carry out to be satisfied that the authorised fund manager adopts systems and controls which are appropriate to ensure that prices of units are calculated in accordance with this section and to ensure that the likelihood of incorrect prices will be minimised. These checks also apply where an authorised fund manager has delegated all or some of its pricing1 functions to one or more third parties5.

5

(2)

A depositary should thoroughly review an authorised fund manager's systems and controls to confirm that they are satisfactory. The depositary's review should include an analysis of the controls in place to determine the extent to which reliance can be placed on them.

(3)

A review should be performed when the depositary is appointed and thereafter as it feels appropriate given its knowledge of the robustness and the stability of the systems and controls and their operation.

(4)

A review should be carried out more frequently where a depositary knows or suspects that an authorised fund manager's systems and controls are weak or are otherwise unsatisfactory.

(5)

Additionally, a depositary should from time to time review other aspects of the valuation of the scheme property of each authorised fund for which it is responsible, verifying, on a sample basis, if necessary, the assets, liabilities, accruals, units in issue1, securities prices (and in particular the prices of OTC derivatives,5unapproved securities and the basis for the valuation of unquoted securities) and any other relevant matters, for example an accumulation factor or a currency conversion factor.

(6)

A depositary should ensure that any issues, which are identified in any such review, are properly followed up and resolved.

4

The recording and reporting of instances of incorrect pricing

(1)

An authorised fund manager should record each instance where the price of a unit is incorrect as soon as the error is discovered, and report the fact to the depositary together with details of the action taken, or to be taken, to avoid repetition as soon as practicable.

(2)

In accordance with COLL 6.6.11 G (Duty to inform the FCA), the depositary should report any breach of the rules in COLL 6.3 immediately to the FCA. However, notification should relate to instances which the depositary considers material only.

(3)

A depositary should also report to the FCA immediately any instance of incorrect pricing1where the error is 0.5% or more of the price of a unit, where a depositary believes that reimbursement or payment is inappropriate and should not be paid by an authorised fund manager.

(4)

In accordance with SUP 16.6.8 R, a depositary should also make a return to the FCA on a quarterly basis which summarises the number of instances of incorrect pricing1 during a particular period.

5

The rectification of pricing breaches

(1)

COLL 6.6.3R(3)(c)10(Functions of the authorised fund manager) places a duty on the authorised fund manager to take action to reimburse affected unitholders, former unitholders, and the scheme itself, for instances of incorrect pricing1, except if it appears to the depositary that the breach is of minimal significance.

(2)

A depositary may consider that the instance of incorrect pricing1is of minimal significance if:

(3)

In determining (2), if the instance of incorrect pricing1 is due to one or more factors or exists over a period of time, each price should be considered separately.

(4)

If a depositary deems it appropriate, it may, in spite of the circumstances outlined in (2), require a payment from the authorised fund manager or from the authorised fund to the unitholders, former unitholders, the authorised fund or the authorised fund manager (where appropriate).

(5)

The depositary should satisfy itself that any payments required following an instance of incorrect pricing1 are accurately and promptly calculated and paid.

(6)

If a depositary considers that reimbursement or payment is inappropriate, it should report the matter to the FCA, together with its recommendation and justification. The depositary should take into account the need to avoid prejudice to the rights of unitholders, or the rights of unitholders in a class of units.

(7)

It may not be practicable, or in some cases legally permissible, for the authorised fund manager to obtain reimbursement from unitholders, where the unitholders have benefited from the incorrect price.

(8)

In all cases where reimbursement or payment is required, amounts due to be reimbursed to unitholders for individual sums which are reasonably considered by the authorised fund manager and depositary to be immaterial, need not normally be paid.