On 12 January 2021, the FCA announced that it was conducting a short consultation regarding updating its guidance for firms on the treatment of mortgage and consumer credit customers facing repossession. The FCA’s current guidance on mortgage repossessions means firms should not enforce repossessions before 31 January 2021 except in exceptional circumstances, such as a … Continue Reading
On 6 May 2020, we reported that the FCA had published a new webpage concerning a statement on financial crime systems and controls during coronavirus situation. On 8 January 2021, the FCA added the following text to this webpage, “This statement will no longer apply from 7 February 2021”.… Continue Reading
On 17 March 2020, we reported that the FCA had published a new webpage containing information for firms regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. On 6 May 2020, we further reported that the FCA had added a new section to this webpage concerning information security. On 8 January 2021, the FCA updated the text that appears on … Continue Reading
On 7 January 2021, the FCA published the results of its COVID-19 financial resilience survey data. The surveys were sent to solo-regulated firms to inform the FCA of the impact of the pandemic on firms’ financial resilience. The surveys did not cover the 1,500 largest firms in the UK financial sector who are regulated by … Continue Reading
On 10 December 2020, the PRA issued a statement regarding capital distributions by large UK banks. At the end of March, the PRA issued a statement welcoming the decisions of the boards of the large UK banks to suspend dividends and buybacks on ordinary shares until the end of 2020. At the PRA’s request they … Continue Reading
Following the decision of the High Court in Financial Conduct Authority v Arch and others [2020] EWHC 2448 (Comm), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has decided to publish guidance in respect of the evidence and methodologies which policyholders may use to prove the presence of Covid-19. Although some aspects of the High Court decision have … Continue Reading
On 4 December 2020, the FCA issued a guidance consultation for firms collecting payments under a Bounce Back Loan (BBL) where the collection of that debt is a regulated activity. The BBL scheme is a government scheme that enables smaller businesses to access finance more quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic. On 24 September 2020, the … Continue Reading
On 9 November 2020, the PRA issued a statement on COVID-19 guidance for firms. The statement provides that the PRA recommends that the Chief Executive Officer senior management function (SMF1) is accountable for ensuring an adequate process for following and adhering to Government guidance. For firms that do not have an SMF1 Chief Executive Officer, … Continue Reading
On 9 November 2020, the FCA issued an updated statement regarding COVID-19 and workplace arrangements and work-related travel. The updated statement provides that: Firms should continue to follow relevant guidance to ensure they comply with any restrictions. For firms based in England, the advice is issued by the UK Government, while firms based in Scotland, … Continue Reading
On 2 November 2020, the FCA announced that it would be updating its temporary guidance on personal loans, credit cards, motor finance, rent to own, buy-now pay-later, pawn broking and high-cost short-term credit to support consumer credit customers financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. On 4 November 2020, the FCA issued a consultation on updating … Continue Reading
On 2 November 2020, the FCA published a new webpage setting out proposals to provide further support for mortgage borrowers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The FCA is proposing to extend the availability of payment deferrals to support mortgage borrowers who are experiencing payment difficulties because of coronavirus. The proposals, if implemented, mean … Continue Reading
On 2 November 2020, the FCA issued a statement concerning consumer credit borrowers and the latest Government restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The FCA states that it will update its temporary guidance on personal loans, credit cards, motor finance, rent to own, buy-now pay-later, pawn broking and high-cost short-term credit to support consumer … Continue Reading
On 21 to 23 October 2020, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) held its final quarterly plenary of 2020 as a virtual event. The discussions over three days mostly focussed on Strategic Initiatives reacting to the Covid-19 pandemic and progress made on country specific processes. The FATF also provided an update on their strategic focus … Continue Reading
On 20 October 2020, the FCA updated its webpage concerning firm handling of complaints during the COVID-19 pandemic. The FCA has provided updated information on payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints and reinforces its messaging about the importance of continuing to comply with complaint handling requirements. In particular, claims management companies are reminded of the FCA’s … Continue Reading
Financial institutions have had to deal with two challenges in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first challenge is financial – how to address and mitigate the sharp drop in the value of financial assets or loss of liquidity. The second challenge is operational – how to address the risk of failure of resources … Continue Reading
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has introduced proposals on how firms should continue to support customers who hold insurance and premium finance products and may be in financial difficulty due to coronavirus (Covid-19). The proposals consider the ways in which firms might provide support to consumers who have already had a payment deferral and to … Continue Reading
On 5 October 2020, the FCA announced that it had opened the application windows for cohort 7 of the Regulatory Sandbox and the pilot of a new Digital Sandbox initiative, with an emphasis on supporting products and solutions that will assist consumers and firms affected by the pandemic. The FCA is collaborating with The City … Continue Reading
On 24 September 2020, the FCA updated its web page on ‘Key workers in financial services’. The web page reminds financial services firms that it remains important for them to continue to identify and monitor key workers to ensure that firms respond effectively in the event of further local or national lockdowns. The FCA also … Continue Reading
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of every individual across the country and brought the fair treatment of customers into even sharper focus. As the virus began to unfold, the regulator took swift action to publish various guidance outlining its expectations as to how firms should treat customers who are impacted by it to … Continue Reading
On 17 September 2020, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced that euro area banks under its direct supervision may exclude certain central bank exposures from the leverage ratio. The announcement comes after the Governing Council of the ECB confirmed that there are exceptional circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Banks under ECB supervision can benefit … Continue Reading
On 16 September 2020, the FCA published Draft guidance: consumer credit and coronavirus – additional guidance for firms. The FCA originally published guidance on credit cards (including retail revolving credit) and personal loans on 9 April 2020 and later updated it on 1 July 2020. Publication of guidance covering motor finance and other high-cost credit … Continue Reading
On 28 August 2020, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published an update to its webpage focused on changes to regulatory reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic. The FCA has permitted extensions to complaints data returns in relation to the 31 August 2020 deadline required by the Dispute Resolution: Complaints Sourcebook (DISP) rule DISP 1.10A.3R(1). The FCA … Continue Reading
On 27 August 2020, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) published a statement setting out its decision to terminate its temporary approach to value-at-risk (VAR) back-testing exceptions from 30 September 2020. This statement follows the PRA’s review of the temporary approach that allowed firms to offset increases due to new back-testing exceptions through a commensurate reduction … Continue Reading
On 27 August, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a statement announcing that it intends to update the 2019 Guidelines on stress test scenarios under the Money Market Funds Regulation (MMFR) to include a modification of the risk parameters to reflect recent market developments related to the COVID-19 crisis. ESMA has assessed whether … Continue Reading
