This House of Lords Library briefing outlines the current anti-money regulations in regards to Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), and proposed reforms.
Politically Exposed Persons: Current Regime and Reforms (102KB PDF)
Banks and other financial institutions are required to conduct enhanced customer due diligence when dealing with people identified as PEPs. This is intended to help trace and put a stop to the financing of terrorism. It has been argued that, in some cases, financial institutions have declined to handle accounts of UK PEPs as a result. This process of withdrawing financial services for PEP’s has been described as ‘de-risking’.
The current anti-money laundering rules are set out in Money Laundering Regulations 2007, which implement the EU’s Third Money Laundering Directive in the UK. The Fourth Money Laundering Directive states that the enhanced due diligence measures, current required for foreign PEPs, should be extended to domestic PEPs. This directive has yet to be agreed in the European Parliament. The UK Government has stated its intention to implement new money-laundering regulations by June 2017.
Politically Exposed Persons: Current Regime and Reforms (102KB PDF)
Concerns have been raised about levels of welfare spending in the UK and increasing numbers of young people not in education, employment or training. This briefing sets out statistics, government policy and commentary on welfare and youth employment. This includes the government’s youth guarantee, its ‘Get Britain working’ policies and the interim report by Alan Milburn on young people and work.
Rural areas contribute a significant proportion of England’s economic output. The government has announced several policies intended to support growth in the rural economy, including farming. However, it has faced criticism for the delay in outlining its overall strategy for the agricultural sector. This briefing provides data on the rural economy and summarises government policy and stakeholder reaction
The Financial Services and Markets Bill [HL] is a government bill that would make reforms to several areas of financial regulation, including reforms to the Financial Ombudsman Service, abolishing the Payment Systems Regulator, introducing a ‘provisional licences’ authorisation scheme, and making reforms to the UK’s bank ring-fencing regime. Its second reading in the House of Lords is scheduled to take place on 8 June 2026.
![Financial Services and Markets Bill [HL]: HL Bill 5 of 2026–27](https://lordslibrary-parliament.studio24.dev/content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/tadas-petrokas-G7nWQwb6AP4-unsplash-568x320.jpg)