Listing regime – FCA consultation on changes to the NSM

The FCA has published a consultation paper (CP24/17) on enhancing the National Storage Mechanism (NSM).

The NSM is a platform operated by the FCA which allows users to access and download company information, in particular regulated information disclosed by listed companies (or on their behalf) in compliance with their obligations under the DTRs, UKLRs and UK MAR. The NSM is used both by primary information providers disseminating information on behalf of companies and by companies uploading information directly themselves.

The changes proposed by the FCA include:

• Expanding the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) information to be supplied when filing regulation information at the NSM – the LEI is a unique global identifier, which can be allocated to listed companies and individuals acting in a business capacity (but not those acting in a private capacity or employees). Requiring more LEI information will help users identify filings in relation to a company, even where the filing was made by someone other than the company.

• Amending the headline codes and headline categories which must be included when submitting regulated information to the NSM – the headline codes and categories help users when searching for regulated information and the changes are to facilitate these searches through consistent and improved use of these labels.

The consultation closes on 27 September 2024 and the FCA aims to publish its final rules by the end of 2024, to come into force in the second half of 2025.