New Capital Requirements for UK FCA regulated investment firms (CFD / Spread Betting)

Firms in this space that operate as STP companies must be aware of the proposed changes to capital requirements under the forthcoming Investment Firm Prudential Regime (“IFPR”). The IFPR is expected to come into force in January 2022 and under this new regime, the concept of the matched principal dealer with a lower capital requirement will be abolished.

These firms, who were previously required to have a minimum capital requirement of €125,000, will have a permanent minimum capital requirement of £750,000. The increase will be phased in over five years for existing authorised firms, and effective for new applicants after the regulation comes into force.