On 25 May 2023, the FCA published Consultation Paper CP23/13: Strengthening protections of borrowers in financial difficulty: Consumer credit and mortgages, which sets out proposed changes to FCA sourcebooks to reflect the planned withdrawal of the Tailored Support Guidance (TSG). Introduction During the coronavirus pandemic the FCA introduced the TSG to make clear how firms … Continue Reading
On 25 May 2023, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) published its latest Outlook update, containing revised compensation and levy forecasts for 2023/24. The FSCS has revised its levy forecast for 2023/24 to £270m. Whilst this is a reduction from the initial estimates the FSCS shared in November 2022, it still expects to pay £471m … Continue Reading
On 25 May 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a statement highlighting the risks arising from the provision of unregulated products and/or services by investment firms. ESMA is concerned that the practice of investment firms offering products and services that are not regulated gives rise to both investor protection and prudential risks. … Continue Reading
Today, the European Commission (Commission) published its Retail Investment legislative package with the aim of empowering retail investors to take more informed investment decisions that would better correspond to their investment needs and objectives. During the run-up to the Commission’s proposal, a number of issues were intensively debated by policymakers and stakeholders. The most controversial … Continue Reading
On 17 May 2023, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published consolidated questions and answers on the PRIIPs key information document. The document combines responses given by the European Commission to questions requiring the interpretation of Union Law according to Article 16b(5) of the ESA Regulations, which are colour coded in blue, and responses generated by … Continue Reading
On 17 May 2023, the FCA published selected statistics from its latest Financial Lives cost of living survey, carried out over the six months to January 2023, to give an insight into the financial situation UK adults experienced during that period. The FCA found that the number of people struggling to meet bills and credit … Continue Reading
As part of its Fraud Strategy, published on 3 May 2023, the government announced its intention to ban cold calling for all financial products, so that anyone who subsequently receives unsolicited calls trying to sell them financial products such as cryptocurrency or insurance will treat it as a scam. Under the Financial Guidance and Claims … Continue Reading
On 10 May 2023, the FCA published a speech by its Executive Director of Consumers and Competition, Sheldon Mills, in which he discusses the countdown to the Consumer Duty. Mr Mills begins by reminding firms that they have less than three months to implement the Consumer Duty, which comes into force on 31 July 2023. … Continue Reading
As part of its 2020 Capital Markets Union (CMU) Action Plan, the European Commission (Commission) has been working on a retail investment strategy. The Commission’s aim is to empower retail investors to take more informed investment decisions that would better correspond to their investment needs and objectives. Following a public consultation conducted in May 2022, … Continue Reading
On 2 May 2023, the FCA published Consultation Paper 23/9: Changing the scope of the baseline financial resilience regulatory return (CP23/9). Following the publication of the FCA’s final rules in relation to a new baseline financial resilience return, FIN073, the FCA is proposing to change the scope of firms required to provide baseline financial resilience … Continue Reading
On 19 April 2023, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) published the annual report for the Wider Implications Framework. The Wider Implications Framework (the framework) was re-launched in early 2022 as a means for members of the financial services regulatory family (the FOS, the FCA, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), the Pensions Regulator (TPR) and … Continue Reading
On 20 April 2023, the House of Commons’ Treasury Committee published a letter from FCA Chief Executive, Nikhil Rathi. The letter outlines the FCA’s responses to questions posed by the Treasury Committee regarding competition in the retail banking market. These included questions on the FCA’s work in relation to the savings market (and easy access … Continue Reading
On 19 April 2023, the FCA published Evaluation Paper 23/1: An evaluation of our 2019 overdrafts intervention (EP23/1). In Policy Statement 19/16: High-cost credit review: Overdraft policy statement, the FCA introduced a package of remedies in the UK market for overdrafts. In the same publication, the FCA announced that they would carry out an ex … Continue Reading
On 18 April 2023, the Bank of England (BoE) published a statement on improving depositor outcomes in bank or building society insolvency. The statement sets out how financial authorities and industry are working together to deliver better outcomes for depositors in the event of a bank or building society insolvency. The changes are intended not … Continue Reading
In this podcast, Matthew Gregory is joined by Claudia Trauffler (Head of Capital Markets, HM Treasury) who discusses the Government’s plans to revoke the PRIIPs Regulation and UK retain disclosure reform generally.… Continue Reading
On 3 April 2023, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) published a feedback statement on its proposals to make temporary changes to outcome reporting in its business-specific complaints data. The consultations In October 2021, as part of its work on reducing its existing backlog, the FOS consulted on a temporary initiative to amend how it records … Continue Reading
On 30 March 2023, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a final report from its retail market conduct taskforce which provides an overview of the evolving retail trading landscape and sets out a suite of potential measures for regulators to consider in building or enhancing their respective regulatory approaches to retail misconduct issues. … Continue Reading
On 31 March 2023, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) published Policy Statement 2/23: Depositor Protection (PS2/23). PS2/23 follows an earlier consultation, CP9/22, in which the PRA proposed to amend Rule 6.2 in the Depositor Protection (DP) Part of the PRA Rulebook and make other consequential changes. These amendments sought to clarify that the Financial Services … Continue Reading
On 21 March 2023, the FCA published a speech by its director of consumer investments, Therese Chambers, delivered at the TISA Financial Advice and Guidance Conference in London. In her speech, Ms Chambers notes that although the reforms implemented as part of the Retail Distribution Review a decade ago have had positive impacts, it is … Continue Reading
On 20 March 2023, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) announced that the FCA has confirmed an increase in the award limits – the maximum amounts the FOS can require a financial business to pay when it upholds complaints. The FCA has confirmed that from 1 April 2023, the award limits will go up to:… Continue Reading
On 17 March 2023, the FCA launched a call for input to inform its review of whether the thresholds for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to be able to refer complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) remain appropriate. The FCA’s policy objective is to provide access to the FOS to SMEs it thinks … Continue Reading
On 16 March 2023, the FCA published a Dear CEO letter on its priorities for payments firms. The letter was sent to CEOs of firms within the FCA’s payments portfolio, including those authorised or registered under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (PSRs) and the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (EMRs). The letter explains that the FCA … Continue Reading
On 16 March 2023, there was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ) a Corrigendum to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2268 of 6 September 2021 amending the regulatory technical standards laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/653 as regards the underpinning methodology and presentation of performance scenarios, the presentation of costs … Continue Reading
On 10 March 2023, the FCA published final guidance which sets out the ways mortgage lenders can help customers worried about or already struggling with their mortgage payments because of the rising cost of living. The FCA has also published new data and analysis on the mortgage market. The new data shows that, in addition … Continue Reading
