Emily Tierney
4 Jan 2024
The latest FinTech news and regulation in bite-size bits with links to relevant articles and documents. You're one-stop-shop for everything FinTech and compliance - don't be complacent, be compliant!
December 2023 Regulation Update
4 December 2023
FCA seeks views on regulatory approach for overseas funds
In preparation for the new Overseas Funds Regime (OFR), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) hasset out its proposals for how the regime should operate. The OFR has been designed by Parliamentto provide a streamlined process that allows non-UK domiciled funds to market to UK retailcustomers where the government has found a jurisdiction equivalent.
https://www.fca.org.uk/news/news-stories/fca-seeks-views-regulatory-approach-overseas-funds
5 December 2023
Financial watchdog sets out credit information market improvements
People will find their credit files better reflect their financial circumstances, under proposalsannounced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The change is one of a range of measures toimprove the quality of the information collated by credit reference agencies (CRAs), which is used toinform lending decisions, and boost competition in the market.
FCA regulation on non-financial misconduct
Hidden away at the back of the Financial Conduct Authority's recent consultation paper on diversity and inclusion in the financial sector are some important proposed new regulatory provisions about how firms should deal with 'lapses' in interpersonal behaviour by members of their workforce.
https://www.ftadviser.com/regulation/2023/12/05/fca-regulation-on-non-financial-misconduct/
6 December 2023
Scammers looking to exploit financial stress at Christmas, FCA warns
The FCA is warning of the risk of loan fee fraud as almost two-thirds of parents feel pressured to spend above their means at Christmas. 40% of UK adults are concerned about being able to affordChristmas spending this year, rising to half of parents (52%) with young children under the age of 18. Over a quarter (29%) of parents with young children have already borrowed or intend to do so tocover the cost of Christmas this year, leaving many susceptible to loan fee fraud. Faced with thisrising risk, the FCA sets out a 3-step loan fraud checklist to help consumers protect themselves.
https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/scammers-exploit-financial-stress-christmas-fca-warns
7 December 2023
FCA sets out new rules to maintain access to cash in increasingly digital world
The FCA has proposed new rules to maintain reasonable access to cash for personal and business customers across the UK. This follows new powers granted to the FCA by the Financial Services andMarkets Act 2023.
Challenges facing the FCA over non-financial misconduct plans
There is just under three weeks to go for the industry to respond to a Financial Conduct Authority consultation that will look at non-financial misconduct and is anticipated to have wide-reaching consequences.
8 December 2023
UK spending watchdog slams delays at FCA
The UK’s public spending watchdog has rebuked the country’s top financial regulator for being too slow to act on regulatory risks and for failing to give the government the information it needs to judge the success of a controversial overhaul.
https://www.ft.com/content/1fa24aa8-6b98-4a93-87ae-fe05f13f600f
10 December 2023
UK small businesses call on regulator to intervene over ‘harsh’ banking practices
The UK’s small business lobby has asked the country’s top financial regulator to intervene over “harsh” banking practices that it says are forcing entrepreneurs to put their homes at risk unnecessarily. The Federation of Small Businesses told the Financial Times it had filed a “super-complaint” — the first to be made to the Financial Conduct Authority — focused on “banks thatexcessively demand personal guarantees for business loans”.
https://www.ft.com/content/5bcc8d47-a1c5-4167-9f8d-ee86fb8e783d
11 December 2023
FT Adviser readers react to FCA's advice boundary proposals
FT Adviser readers have reacted and discussed the pros and cons of the proposals, and whether they think the regulator is going in the right direction. What do you think about the FCA's proposals? Is the regulator right to consider allowing cross-subsidisation? What do you make of the concept of simplified advice?
12 December 2023
FCA writes to firms about the treatment of retained interest on customers’ cash balances
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today written to investment platforms and SIPP operators setting out its concerns on the way they deal with any interest earned on customers’ cash balances.
FCA warns platforms retaining interest on cash may breach consumer duty
The Financial Conduct Authority has written to investment platforms and Sipp operators setting outits concerns about the way they deal with any interest earned on customers’ cash balances.
FCA finds behavioural language can improve pension email open rates
The Financial Conduct Authority has undertaken research to test what gets consumers engaged with their pension and why. In research published last week (December 8), the regulator said every individual has received at least one email from a pension provider that has been ignored.
Consumer duty ‘underpins’ other FCA work, says Rathi
The implementation of the Consumer Duty can “underpin a lot of the other work", the Financial Conduct Authority is currently doing, according to its CEO, Nikhil Rathi. Speaking to the TreasuryCommittee today (December 12), Rathi stated that the “cross-cutting” nature of consumer duty, which was introduced in July, can “underpin” the authority’s other work.
https://www.ftadviser.com/fca/2023/12/12/consumer-duty-underpins-other-fca-work-says-rathi/
13 December 2023
FCA needs to bring back the maximum commission agreement
The FCA has just published a paper entitled “Greater support for people’s financial decisions, under regulator and government proposals”. Sarah Pritchard, executive director of markets and international at the FCA, says: “We want to open the door for more people to get the right advice or support to manage their money at the time they need it and at a cost they can afford.
FCA targeted support proposals ‘don’t favour particular size of firm’
The Financial Conduct Authority’s proposals for targeted support “don’t necessarily favour a particular size of firm”, Quilter commercial proposition director, Jenny Davidson, has argued despite the FCA predicting larger firms will have an advantage.
14 December 2023
FCA welcomes the launch of industry code of conduct for ESG ratings and data products providers
The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and the International Regulatory Strategy Group (IRSG) have launched a voluntary code of conduct for Environmental, Social and Governance(ESG) ratings and data products providers.
Ask the expert: I received a complaint from a client, what should I do?
When a firm authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority receives a complaint, it triggers a series of crucial steps aimed at resolving issues, improving processes, and upholding regulatory standards. This article outlines the key actions and considerations for firms when dealing with customer complaints.
17 December 2023
UK FCA rules out extension of post-Brexit licensing regime
The FCA has ruled out any extension of its temporary post-Brexit licensing regime beyond the end of this year, vowing to complete work on 116 outstanding cases within the next fortnight.
https://www.ft.com/content/77bded70-0056-430f-b177-ea80f5632e45
18 December 2023
Call for FCA to introduce mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting
A group of 10 major UK investors are calling on the Financial Conduct Authority to introduce mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting for financial institutions. The investors have today (December18) written a letter to the regulator calling for action, in an effort co-ordinated by responsible investment charity ShareAction.
20 December 2023
FCA says listing changes could increase possibility of failures
The Financial Conduct Authority has set out proposals aimed at making the UK’s listing regime "more accessible, effective, and competitive", but has admitted it could result in more failures.
22 December 2023
Why FCA's targeted support can work for advisers too
The Financial Conduct Authority's proposals for targeted support are still quite green, but they are not necessarily just aimed at larger firms and providers, Rachel Vahey has said. Speaking on the FT Adviser podcast, the head of public policy at AJ Bell said advisers too could deliver targeted support.
27 December 2023
Smooth rollout of SDR rules will be key focus for firms in 2024
Smooth implementation of the regulator's proposed sustainability rules will be a key focus for investment trade bodies in the new year, as they warn some firms will need to "clean up their act" under the "robust and rigorous regime". The Financial Conduct Authority’s rules on greenwashing and sustainability labels, which are set to be rolled out in 2024, include an anti-greenwashing rule for authorised firms, four investment labels and rules around the marketing of investment funds on the basis of their sustainability characteristics.
28 December 2023
What you need to know to comply with the FCA consumer duty
We are a few months beyond the July 31 2023 deadline for compliance with consumer duty, but it is important to remember that date was not the end of the road; it was the start of an ongoing requirement to meet the specific and cross-cutting rules, and ultimately fulfil the principle of acting to deliver good outcomes for consumers.
29 December 2023
FCA handed out more than £52mn in fines in 2023
Following enforcement investigations, the Financial Conduct Authority imposed fines totalling £52,802,900 over this past year. Between January and October 2023, the FCA also cancelled 1,266 firms that failed to meet its minimum standards for authorisation, double the number cancelled in the previous year.
https://www.ftadviser.com/regulation/2023/12/29/fca-handed-out-more-than-52mn-in-fines-in-2023/
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