The Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) replaced the Approved Persons Regime (APR) for solo-regulated firms from 9th December 2019. Firms with obligations under the SM&CR have until 9th December 2020 to ensure: – all relevant staff are trained on the Conduct Rules and how they apply to their roles all staff in certified roles […]
The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA18) outlines the requirement for an Appropriate Policy Document (APD) to be in place when processing special category and/or criminal offence data under certain specified conditions. In November 2019, the ICO published a template for this document that can be easily customised and used by businesses to meet the requirements […]
Will the UK have a deal with the EU before October 31st? As of writing this post the answer is still uncertain and so it is essential that firms of all sizes with obligations under the GDPR ensure that they are fully compliant with the Regulation. The UK Government have already confirmed that the GDPR […]
Governing bodies have stressed how essential it is to have complete and robust compliance programs in place, with emphasis on data protection, information security, vulnerable customers and complaint handling. In these difficult times, people are extremely stressed and anxious, which may lead to additional complaints where service or product expectations have not been met. Whilst […]
Carrying out effective and compliant due diligence is not just for businesses with obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 or for those authorised or supervised by the FCA or HMRC. Most firms will be required to complete due diligence on suppliers, customers and/or employees to meet business and sometimes legal obligations. It is essential […]
With more and more firms setting up under FCA regulation, Know Your Compliance Limited offer the most comprehensive FCA Compliance Manual on the market, already used by thousands of organisations in a vast array of regulated sectors, we understand how to write policies, procedures and templates that can be fully customised and save hours of […]
Most businesses are required to carry out some form of due diligence in meeting their regulatory, contractual or legal obligations and to mitigate the risks associated with standard business relationships such as working with suppliers, customers, employees and other third parties. Carrying out effective and adequate due diligence also helps to protect an organisations’ customers […]
A risk management program is an essential part of any organisations compliance regime and provides a multifaceted approach to identifying, evaluating, preventing and monitoring risk at an internal and external level. All organisations are subject to a certain level of risk from areas such as money laundering, data protection and information security. However, some businesses […]
Last month, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) handed out a £37,805,400 fine to the London branch of Commerzbank AG for significant failings related to anti-money laundering controls and measures. This costly fine included a 30% discount, as the firm offered to settle at an early stage of the investigation. The full fine without an early […]
During the Covid-19 crisis, it is more important than ever for regulated firms to consider their approach to treating customers fairly and vulnerable customers. The FCA have published a statement on their expectations for firms to maintain a high-level of compliance in both areas and for organisations to assess their existing controls and measures to […]