The PRA has published Policy Statement 6/15: Depositor and dormant account protection (PS6/15).

In PS6/15 the PRA provides feedback to Consultation Paper 20/14: Depositor protection and (CP20/14) Consultation Paper 4/15: Depositor, dormant account and policyholder protection (CP4/15) and sets out final rules. In CP20/14 the PRA set out proposed changes to its rules in order to implement the recast Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive (DGSD), new rules for firms to develop systems intended to facilitate that depositors protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) can have continuity of access (CoA) to their accounts during resolution, as well as changes to the existing Single Customer View (SCV) rules applying to firms. In CP4/15 the FCA set out proposals for transitional provisions and new rules in the PRA Rulebook and consequential amendments to the PRA Handbook that arise as a result of the rules being proposed in CP20/14 and CP21/14, including new rules establishing a separate Dormant Account Scheme.

In PS6/15 the PRA states that the principal changes that it has made to its proposals are:

  • it is considering extending eligibility for DGS cover to local authorities with an annual budget of less than EUR 500,000;
  • where a host DGS is paying compensation on behalf of the FSCS, payment will be in the host state currency (rather than in sterling);
  • the PRA has set out additional guidance regarding how it expects firms to meet recast DGSD disclosure requirements set out in supervisory statement 18/15 (SS18/15) and included a new rule requiring firms to provide a list of exclusions from eligibility to depositors alongside the information sheet (replacing a previous general requirement);
  • the PRA is making minor amendments to the SCV and CoA rules, as well as to the corresponding guidance in SS18/15. The timeline for implementation of SCV and CoA rules has also been extended slightly to 1 December 2016 in light of outstanding related issues in Consultation Paper 15/15: Depositor and dormant account protection – further amendments; and
  • the PRA is proposing to extend CoA requirements in relation to overdrawn accounts.

The depositor protection rules and supervisory statements take effect from 3 July 2015, except for the rules on SCV and CoA. These rules take effect from 1 December 2016, at which point Depositor Protection 9.6(2) and chapters 49 to 52 will be deleted.

View PRA Policy Statement 6/15: Depositor and dormant account protection, 1 April 2015