Introduction Anti money laundering (AML) compliance in the UK is overseen by appointed supervisory authorities. AML for Annex 1 registered firms has recently come under scrutiny by the FCA after their assessment into money laundering prevention processes. The regulator found cases of discrepancies between the registered and actual activities carried out by firms. In addition, […]
This article provides information on the Consumer Duty and offers suggestions for complying with the rules and outcomes. We have put the FCA Consumer Duty guidance into simple to read sections and have included controls and tools for adherence to the Duty requirements. What is The Consumer Duty? The FCA’s Consumer Duty (“the Duty”) came […]
Do you need to review financial promotions for CONC compliance? This article provides guidance and information on who CONC applies to and how to review your promotions to comply with CONC 3. What is the Consumer Credit Sourcebook? The Consumer Credit Sourcebook (CONC) is listed under the ‘specialist sourcebook’ section of the FCA handbook. It […]
The new FCA financial promotions rules introduce a gateway for firms who approve financial promotions. Regulated firms are already obligated to comply with the COBS 4 Handbook rules on financial promotions and client communications. However, PS23/13 introduces new standards and requirements for those seeking to approve financial promotions for communication by unauthorised persons. What are […]
Compliance Monitoring Tools There are 2 mandatory documents that the FCA requires a firm to submit when they apply for FCA authorisation. One is the Regulatory Business Plan and the other is the Compliance Monitoring Programme. The latter is where a firm documents all their compliance controls, measures and actions. On the regulators application for […]
Consumer Duty Speech Nisha Arora, Director of Cross Cutting Policy and Strategy at the FCA delivered a speech last week at the Deloitte: Consumer Duty – Next Steps event. It’s been 3 months since the Consumer Duty came into force and the FCA are keen to emphasise that this is still one of their key […]
What is Operational Resilience? Operational resilience framework and templates can help a business to continue trading in the event of one or more operational or business incidents. Operational resilience is a company’s ability to identify, control, mitigate and manage operational disruptions. All businesses should have an operational resilience framework that identifies potential vulnerabilities and the […]
The Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) Undertsanding how to write an SMF handover policy is just one of the aspects required to comply with the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR). Most dual and solo-regulated firms are required to comply with the SMCR and COCON rules set out in the FCA Handbook. There are […]
Introduction to the Client Asset Sourcebook (CASS) Where certain regulated firms hold or control client money or safe custody assets as part of their business, they are required to comply with the FCA’s Client Assets Sourcebook (CASS) rules. The guidance, rules and requirements set out in CASS have been created to ensure that adequate protections […]
Introduction Vulnerabilities come in many different forms, including those created by permanent and temporary circumstances. Certain customers need additional support or guidance when purchasing financial products and services. Vulnerabilities vary by individual and group, meaning a vulnerable customer checklist is an essential tool for gap analysis and risk assessment. All FCA regulated firms are expected […]