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FSA Handbook Notice 122
On 27 July 2012, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) published Handbook Notice 122 containing responses to various aspects of FSA Quarterly Consultations. The FSA also confirmed that, on 26 July 2012, the FSA Board approved nine instruments amending the FSA Handbook, including the following:
- Listing Rules (Contact with the FSA) Instrument 2012 (FSA 2012/42): This instrument amends, among other things, the Supervision Manual and the Disclosure and Transparency Rules to provide that the UK Listing Authority (UKLA) helpdesk will not accept requests for individual guidance which are made on a “no names basis”. Queries to the UKLA must be made in writing, on a named basis, except in cases of exceptional urgency or if the query is from a sponsor relating to the provision of a sponsor service.
- Listing Rules (Related Party Transactions) Instrument 2012 (FSA 2012/41): This instrument partially re-defines "substantial shareholder" in Chapter 11 of the Listing Rules by describing further conditions in which voting rights that are held by an individual will be disregarded for the purpose of calculating voting rights. These further conditions are where: (i) the securities to which the voting rights are attached are held for a consecutive period of five trading days or less; (ii) voting rights are not exercised within the period the securities are held; and (iii) no attempt is made directly or indirectly by the person to intervene or exert influence on the management of the issuer within the period the securities are held.
- Market Conduct Sourcebook (Amendment No 11) Instrument 2012 (FSA 2012/38): This instrument provides guidance to brokers on when they can pass inside information to buyers regarding the sale of stock by persons discharging managerial responsibilities. It also clarifies what will be deemed to be “improper disclosure” of this particular type of inside information.
The Market Conduct Sourcebook (Amendment No 11) Instrument 2012 (FSA 2012/38) and the Listing Rules (Related Party Transactions) Instrument 2012 (FSA 2012/41) came into force on 1 August 2012, while the Listing Rules (Contact with the FSA) Instrument 2012 (FSA 2012/42) will come into force on 30 September 2012.
(FSA, Handbook Notice 122, 27.07.12)
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