Compliance Insights Articles

The Financial Conduct Authority have revealed that almost 700 firms have benefitted from support provided by their innovation programme, Project Innovate, since its inception in 2014. The service aims to help firms to design and implement innovative products and services that promote effective competition in the interests of consumers. The project has been well-received all round, with over 1500 firms applying for the regulatory sandbox, and it has been suggested that those f

With summer just around the corner, December may feel like a long way off. But there are only seven months to go until the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) is rolled out to all solo-regulated firms. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published finalised guidance in March to offer firms additional practical assistance and information on the preparation and production of Statements of Responsibilities (SoRs) and Responsibilities Maps, and offered a timely rem

This week we’re going to take a look at the content of Statements of Responsibilities (SoRs), – the document outlining the accountabilities of each Senior Manager - in particular focusing on Prescribed Responsibilities and considering examples of best practice, and some pitfalls that have the potential to breach the rules. For more detail on what a SoR needs to look like, head to our recent article, What is required in a Statement of Responsibility under SMCR. In short, ther

As always, we aim to keep you right up to date with all matters to do with financial services compliance, as such we have produced a “regulation round-up” summarising the key updates from March. The FCA Directory On 8th March the FCA released the long anticipated final rules on the Financial Services Directory. If you remember from our previous articles, the FCA took steps to create an updated version of the Financial Services Register because, it became apparent, many indivi

In this article, we’ll take a look ahead at the upcoming regulatory changes over the next nine months of 2019. In the last two years, firms have dealt with significant new legislative and regulatory rules and guidance, including the Dear CEO letter regarding complaints, the new Pre-action Protocol for Debt Claims, the new rules around Remuneration and Staff Incentives, new rules on Creditworthiness Assessments, and GDPR. Depending on the type of firm, your firm may be embeddi

The new Senior Managers and Certification Regime is designed to encourage accountability within firms, aiming to prevent misconduct by improving awareness of conduct matters within firms at all levels, and ensuring that the most senior staff within organisations are given responsibility for their direct actions and for a culture of compliance. From the implementation date, every Senior Manager will be expected to have a Statement of Responsibility – a short document that clea

Following on from last week’s look at CONC, this week we’re going to examine DISP, the section of the FCA Handbook that sets out how firms should handle and resolve complaints about regulated activity. DISP is divided into three main chapters: Treating Complainants Fairly Jurisdiction of the Financial Ombudsman Service Complaint handling procedures of the Financial Ombudsman Service There are also further sections that are only applicable to some firms: the Standard Terms – w

Although many of us feel confident we know the FCA’s Consumer Credit Sourcebook (CONC) inside and out, even I, as somebody who covers it continually, sometimes find new information that I hadn’t considered before. Perhaps one of the reasons we struggle with CONC is the manner in which it’s written. Understandably the FCA write in a fairly legalistic style and continually reference to other sections of the handbook. While we understand the need for this to happen, it does slow

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have published initial feedback and guidance in relation to Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) deals, which are defined as deals that allow a customer to pay later, typically up to 12 months later, during which time the customer pays no interest. However, where the customer misses a payment, the lender charges interest, usually back dated. The FCA found that around 50% of customers did not repay the full balance within the period. While the proposa

Most financial service providers and consumer credit firms must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority in order to operate and in 2019 these firms will be joined by Claims Management Companies when the regulator switches from the Claims Management Regulator to the FCA in April. Inwardly passported firms should also ensure that they are properly authorised before Brexit. The good news is that the time taken to process authorisation applications has fallen from an ave

This week we’re going to take a look at how Non-Executive Directors will be affected by the implementation of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime in solo-regulated firms. Previously, under the Approved Persons Regime, all of a firm’s directors needed approval from the Regulator. This changes with the SM&CR, and from commencement, non-executive directors that do not also undertake a Senior Management Function do not require approval under the Senior Managers Regime. T

With the commencement of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) slowly creeping closer we will be helping you to gradually build your understanding of the requirements. We’ll achieve this through a series of articles, each adding a layer of information to the last. You can read our articles on the SM&CR to date here. Next up is to understand the requirements in relation to reporting to the FCA. This is not to be confused with regulatory references which is a sep

Solo-regulated firms that will be within the scope of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime from the end of this year should consider the impact of the requirement to assess and certify the fitness and propriety of their Senior Managers and Certification staff on current process. The Fit and Proper requirement in the SMCR is designed to reinforce that firms need to take responsibility for their staff being fit and proper to do their jobs. Whilst the Financial Conduct A

This is the year that the Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SM&CR) comes into force for solo-regulated firms (i.e. firms regulated solely by the FCA). At RB Compliance Consultancy we have certainly noticed a surge in queries since the turn of the year with requests for support building core policies, statements of responsibilities, advice around the allocation of senior management responsibilities, preparing fit and proper assessments and conduct rules training. This in

Claims Management Firms are now able to register for temporary permission with the Financial Conduct Authority. From April 2019, the FCA will take over regulation of CMCs that serve customers in England, Scotland and Wales and these companies will need to be authorised by the FCA to continue to operate legally. Firms that are currently authorised by the Claims Management Regulator will not automatically be transferred to the FCA. Any Claims Management Firm wishing to operate

As of the 10th December, insurance firms are now subject to the Senior Managers and Certification Regime. So as an insurance firm what do you need to be doing now to ensure continued compliance? SM&CR: A Summary The Regime replaces the revised Approved Persons Regime, and last month’s extension to insurance firms is part of the eventual roll-out of the Regime to all financial services firms. The SM&CR was introduced to banking firms in 2016 to address some of the issues that

The FCA have announced a proposal to make radical changes to the way banks can impose charges for unarranged overdraft fees. Their Consultation Paper sets out a package of remedies intended to reduce harm to consumers – particularly vulnerable customers - who can end up paying unarranged overdraft fees that can be more than ten times as high as fees for payday loans. The Paper sets out findings that banks made over £2.4 billion from overdrafts in 2017, with around 50% of firm

With the introduction of GDPR and next year’s roll-out of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime impacting upon the consumer credit sector this year, 2018 has brought a number of regulatory challenges and changes to current practice. With the Christmas break just around the corner, this month provides a good juncture to get back to basics, and ensure current and new staff training is up to date. This week, we’ll be recapping the specialist sourcebook for consumer credit

With next week marking one year until the roll-out of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime to solo-regulated firms, all affected firms should now have a clear plan for the introduction of the Regime into their firms. The Regime, which aims to improve the culture of financial services firms by ensuring accountability from the top down, replaces the Approved Persons Regime and introduces specific responsibilities for Senior Managers and for staff subject to the Certific

The Senior Managers and Certification Regime is due to commence on 9 December 2019 for solo-regulated firms, and on 10 December 2018 for Insurance firms. Solo-regulated firms still have just over one year to finalise preparations for transition to the new Regime. Our article this week looks at Prescribed Responsibilities – what they are, how they’ll apply to each type of firm, and what to look out for. RELATED ARTICLES: Allocating Prescribed Responsibilities Under SM&CR RELAT