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The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority wrapped up a sweeping set of market reforms, and the numbers are hard to ignore. Jon Relleen, the FCA’s director of infrastructure and exchanges, laid out the agency’s progress at the 2026 Reform of the UK Public and Private Capital Markets Summit — more than 30 workstreams done, covering everything from listing rules to post-trade plumbing.
Why It Matters
The FCA's comprehensive reforms signify a pivotal shift in the UK capital markets, aiming to enhance transparency and efficiency, which are crucial for attracting both domestic and international investors. By addressing key areas such as listing rules and post-trade processes, these changes could foster greater liquidity and reduce operational costs, ultimately bolstering the competitiveness of the UK market in an increasingly globalized financial landscape. As digital assets and innovative financial instruments gain traction, the introduction of a Digital Gilt further demonstrates the UK's commitment to modernizing its capital framework to accommodate evolving market demands.
That’s a lot of ground covered. Relleen walked through changes hitting both primary and secondary markets, pointing to cost reductions for issuers, a brand-new bond tape, and the early-stage rollout of a platform for private company shares. The FCA’s pitch is basically that UK markets need to stay globally competitive, and sitting still wasn’t an option.
Bond Tape Launch and Secondary Market Gains
The headline number from secondary markets is the bond consolidated tape, which went live in June. It’s the first of its kind outside North America — a genuinely significant claim — and it’s already pulled in 1.6 million license subscriptions. Corporate bond trades jumped 70% on the back of it. Government bond trades rose 30%. Those aren’t small moves for a market that can feel pretty static year to year.
An equity consolidated tape is coming too. The FCA hasn’t named a provider yet — that appointment is still ahead — but work is moving forward. No firm timeline was given, so it’s unclear exactly when traders will see it live.
On the primary market side, the UK listing regime got a significant overhaul. The FCA says the changes cut costs for issuers and helped drive more corporate transactions. In the first half of 2026 alone, 25 companies joined the Main Market, including seven IPOs. That’s not a massive wave, but it’s movement in a direction the FCA clearly wants to sustain.
Post-trade is where some of the more technical — but genuinely impactful — changes sit. Transaction reporting rules were adjusted, and the FCA projects those changes will save firms roughly £100 million annually. Clearing and margining rules also shifted, with the clearing threshold for commodity derivatives raised in response to volatility in those markets. Firms dealing in commodities had been pushing for that kind of adjustment for a while.
PISCES, Digital Securities, and the AI Push
Private markets are growing fast globally, and the FCA moved to build dedicated infrastructure for them. PISCES — a new platform specifically for trading private company shares — is up and running. Four operators are already authorized. Seven transactions have gone through so far, involving companies ranging from tech firms to brewers. It’s early days, but the FCA seems to want PISCES to become a real venue, not just a regulatory experiment.
The Digital Securities Sandbox is live too, and the upcoming digital gilt — called DIGIT — is designed to push digital activity further into mainstream UK markets. It’s a signal that the FCA isn’t treating tokenization as a fringe concern. They’re building for it.
AI is on the agenda in a pretty serious way. The FCA set up an AI Lab and an AI Consortium to work through what safe adoption actually looks like in financial markets. No specific rules were announced yet — it seems like the collaborative, exploratory phase is still running — but the FCA is clearly trying to get ahead of it rather than react after the fact.
Asset management got attention too. The FCA’s review of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive aims to cut regulatory friction for the sector. And alongside the government’s pension market review, the FCA is pushing to make the overall investment landscape more accessible to retail participants.
Retail investors are seeing some real changes. Simplified investment advice rules and clearer product information have already moved the needle. The value of retail-denominated corporate bonds rose 50%, with domestic retail investors putting more into fundraisings than before. That’s a meaningful shift in who’s actually participating in these markets.
Collaboration and What’s Still Unclear
The FCA isn’t doing any of this alone. Relleen made clear that the Treasury and the Bank of England are both involved in shaping the reform agenda. The FCA also said it’s watching other jurisdictions and taking international consistency seriously — it doesn’t want UK rules to diverge so far from global norms that they create friction for cross-border activity.
But the FCA also said it’s willing to scrap existing rules when they’re no longer working. That’s a harder line than regulators usually take publicly. Whether it translates into faster rule changes or stays at the level of stated principle is genuinely unclear yet.
Industry feedback is supposedly driving a lot of the agenda. The FCA says it stays open to ideas from the private sector. What that looks like in practice — and whether firms feel heard — probably depends who you ask.
The AIFMD review is still ongoing. The pension market review is still ongoing. The equity consolidated tape provider still needs to be named. And the digital gilt hasn’t launched yet. So for all the completed workstreams, there’s a long list of things still in motion.
Retail-denominated corporate bonds rose 50% in value.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the FCA’s bond consolidated tape and why does it matter?
The FCA launched the bond consolidated tape in June 2026, the first outside North America, attracting 1.6 million license subscriptions and driving a 70% rise in corporate bond trades and a 30% rise in government bond trades.
What is PISCES and how many transactions has it completed?
PISCES is a new FCA-authorized platform for trading private company shares. Four operators are authorized and the platform has already facilitated seven transactions involving companies including tech firms and brewers.
