On 26 May 2021, the FCA issued a statement on its website concerning its approach to regulating firms in relation to the Government’s Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS).

The statement provides that:

• Most of the lending available as part of the RLS will not be a regulated activity. Therefore, most lending applications will be outside the FCA’s regulatory perimeter.
• FCA rules will apply as usual to regulated lending under the scheme, in this case regulated asset finance.  This includes FCA rules on creditworthiness assessments (CONC 5.2A).
• The relevant requirements under the Money Laundering Regulations will continue to apply and lenders should undertake appropriate anti-money laundering and fraud checks on RLS applications.