Will FCA Transaction Reporting Reforms Deliver £100m Savings?

The FCA has positioned its UK MiFIR transaction reporting reforms as a significant simplification exercise, estimating that firms could save more than £100 million annually through reduced reporting obligations and lower operational complexity.

At first glance, the message is straightforward: fewer reportable instruments, fewer data fields, and less administrative burden should mean lower costs.

The more interesting question is not whether firms can save money, but whether they will realise those savings.

While PS26/15 is expected to reduce costs, its longer-term significance may lie in the FCA’s stated ambition for a more efficient reporting landscape. The real value may not come from the removal of reporting fields or the exclusion of FX derivatives from scope. Instead, it lies in where the FCA appears to be heading next: a more harmonised reporting environment across transaction reporting, EMIR, and SFTR.

PS26/15 Creates Opportunities to Reduce Reporting Costs

Several changes are expected to generate tangible savings for reporting firms.

The FCA has reduced the number of transaction reporting fields from 65 to 52, removed millions of EU-only instruments from scope, excluded FX derivatives from reporting requirements, and shortened the standard back-reporting period from five years to three years. Collectively, these changes are designed to eliminate reporting that provides limited supervisory value while reducing operational overhead for firms.

For many firms, this should mean less data to source, validate, and monitor. Reporting teams may spend less time investigating exceptions, maintaining reference data, and managing reporting submissions. Technology teams may also benefit from simplified reporting logic and lower testing requirements.

However, firms should avoid focusing solely on these direct savings. In many organisations, the cost of reporting is driven as much by the complexity of internal processes as by the volume of reports submitted. If existing workflows, controls, and operating models remain unchanged, some firms may find that the anticipated savings never fully materialise.

Harmonisation Could Deliver Even Greater Long-Term Benefits

One important aspect of PS26/15 is what it signals for the future.

Within the policy statement, the FCA reiterates its long-term objective of creating a more streamlined and harmonised reporting framework across multiple reporting regimes. The regulator has already begun working with industry through the Transaction and Post-trade Reporting Harmonisation Taskforce to explore greater alignment between UK MiFIR transaction reporting, EMIR, and SFTR.

For firms subject to multiple reporting obligations, this is where a significant cost-saving opportunity may emerge.

Today, many firms maintain separate reporting processes, data models, governance frameworks, and controls for each regime. This often results in duplicated effort, inconsistent data definitions, and multiple technology solutions performing similar tasks.

A more harmonised reporting framework could allow firms to rationalise these activities. Shared data models, aligned controls, and consolidated reporting architectures have the potential to deliver operational savings beyond those generated by the individual rule changes contained within PS26/15.

In other words, the reforms may represent more than a transaction reporting update. They may support a broader move towards more consistent UK regulatory reporting, although further alignment remains subject to industry and regulatory development.

Firms That Take Action Early Stand to Gain the Most

Although the new regime will not come into force until April 2028, firms should begin evaluating their reporting frameworks now to identify potential efficiencies and prepare for implementation.

Rather than treating PS26/15 as a compliance exercise, firms can use the reforms as an opportunity to review how reporting is delivered across the organisation. This includes assessing whether existing data sources remain necessary, identifying duplicated controls, and considering how future harmonisation initiatives could influence long-term technology and operating model decisions.

Firms that align their reporting strategy with the FCA’s broader direction of travel will be better positioned to realise both short-term efficiencies and future cost savings.

Cost Savings Will Depend on How Firms Respond

The FCA has created an opportunity to simplify UK transaction reporting and potentially reduce associated costs. The headline savings are attractive, but PS26/15 may also provide firms with an opportunity to consider wider reporting transformation rather than approaching the reforms solely as a narrow regulatory change project.

As reporting requirements continue to evolve, specialist compliance support can help firms navigate technical reporting requirements and the broader regulatory landscape. External expertise can help firms identify efficiencies, avoid unnecessary investment, and prepare for future harmonisation initiatives before they become regulatory requirements.

Prepare for UK MiFIR Transaction Reporting Reform

PS26/15 creates an opportunity to simplify UK transaction reporting. Whether firms realise meaningful savings will depend on how effectively they use the reforms to improve data, controls, and operating models.

Our specialists can assess where the reforms affect your reporting framework and identify practical opportunities to streamline processes, improve controls, and prepare for implementation.

ACA’s Regulatory Reporting Monitoring and Assurance (ARRMA) solution provides a free transaction reporting review and an independent assessment of the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of your transaction reporting. It is designed to highlight areas that may require attention ahead of reform implementation.

The review also gives you an opportunity to discuss the findings with an ACA specialist, who can help you consider the impact of the new regime and the practical steps required to prepare.