The Banking Standards Board (BSB) has published good practice guidance for banks and building societies putting in place procedures to assess the fitness and propriety (F&P) of staff under the Certification Regime. The guidance sets out high-level principles surrounding the assessment of F&P and is designed to encourage and help firms to use the Certification Regime as a means to raise professional standards and to ensure that F&P assessments are fair, consistent and transparent.
The BSB has also published supporting guidance that should be read in conjunction with the good practice guidance. The supporting guidance provides firms assessing F&P with further information on what each element of F&P means and how it can be assessed. It contains:
- definitions of each element of F&P: honesty and integrity, reputation, competence and capability, and financial soundness;
- an overview of different types of F&P assessment and potential sources of information for each; and
- an example of an F&P assessment record template.
The BSB will keep the good practice guidance under review and intends to explore a number of other areas in more detail during 2017.
View BSB certification regime fitness and propriety guidance, 27 February 2017
