Financial Markets Standards Board (FMSB)

A not-for-profit, privately-owned, and market-led, global standards-setting body for fair and effective wholesale financial markets. The Fair and Effective Markets Review by HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority highlighted serious concerns about poor market practice in fixed income, currencies and commodities. It recommended the setting up of a body to address the ‘regulatory void’ between high-level principles and low-level operational rules. We are that body, created in 2015 to bring market practitioners together to develop clearer guidance that could work across all asset classes and jurisdictions, increase market discipline and prevent the repetition of bad behaviours – areas that laws and regulations sometimes failed to reach. Originally named the FICC Markets Standards Board (FMSB) we became the Financial Markets Standards Board in April 2022 to reflect our current, broader, remit which now covers all areas of strategic importance to the wholesale markets, including Post-Trade. FMSB Standards, Statements of Good Practice, and Spotlight Reviews are available on our website.