On 19 September 2023, the European Parliament Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) Committee held its first exchange of views on the Retail Investment Package. The Retail Investment Package, which was published by the European Commission (Commission) on 24 May 2023, aims to empower retail investors to take more informed investment decisions that would better correspond … Continue Reading
On 20 September 2023, the FCA published a Dear CEO letter, in which it outlines its priorities for the funeral plans sector for 2023-25. The letter also updates firms on the specific risks of harm that the FCA is concerned about and what it expects firms to do about them. The FCA’s sector specific priorities … Continue Reading
On 14 September 2023, the FCA published the findings from its multi-firm review on later life mortgage advertising and advice. The review focused on the equity release market, where complex products are sold to customers, particularly customers with a higher risk of being in vulnerable circumstances. Later life mortgages are the most popular type of … Continue Reading
On 14 September 2023, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) published its quarterly complaints data for Q1 2023/24. Every three months, the FOS shares quarterly data and information on the complaints it sees about financial products and services. This includes the number of enquiries and new complaints the FOS has received, as well as the proportion … Continue Reading
On 6 August 2023, the FCA published a letter from its Chief Executive, Nikhil Rathi, to the Treasury Committee Chair, Harriet Baldwin, regarding aspects of the FCA’s work. The letter provides the FCA’s responses to questions posed by Ms Baldwin in a letter dated 2 August 2023, which followed an evidence session with the Committee. … Continue Reading
On 5 September 2023, the Financial Services Consumer Panel (FSCP) published a final report on financial services firms’ personal data use, in which it considers whether that use is leading to bias and detriment for consumers with protected characteristics. The report addresses the assumption that some groups of consumers are experiencing bias and detriment, related … Continue Reading
On 1 September 2023, the FCA issued a statement on its website providing an update on its assessment of what value firms’ savings products offer. The FCA has required nine firms to provide it with their assessments of what value their savings products offer. The assessment follows the introduction of the Consumer Duty which requires … Continue Reading
On 15 August 2023, the FCA published a research note on interest only mortgages, which provides an analysis of FCA mortgage data. The research note sets out an analysis of the FCA’s data on the population of regulated interest-only mortgages that existed on 31 December 2022. It is a factual analysis, based on the mortgage … Continue Reading
On 3 August 2023, the FCA published a statement on its joint review of the Advice Guidance Boundary with HM Treasury. The review, which was announced as part of the Edinburgh Reforms, aims to ensure that consumers get the help they want, at the time they need it and at a cost that is affordable, … Continue Reading
On 2 August 2023, HM Treasury published a consultation paper and call for evidence on banning cold calling for consumer financial services and products. Introduction The government notes that criminals often use telecommunication networks and services to commit fraud, including through cold calling the public. While it is not known how much fraud is … Continue Reading
On 27 July 2023, the Financial Ombudsman Service (the FOS) published the independent assessor’s annual report for 2022-2023. During the financial year 2022-2023, the FOS received 3,717 service complaints, of which the independent assessor investigated 649. In the report, the independent assessor highlights that, in most cases, the FOS is responding to service complaints fairly … Continue Reading
On 26 July 2023, the FCA published its latest Financial Lives survey, which highlights the importance of the Consumer Duty. The FCA’s Financial Lives survey provides nationally representative data about consumers’ attitudes towards managing their money, the financial products they have and their experiences of engaging with financial services firms. The survey helps the FCA … Continue Reading
On 18 July 2023, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) wrote to UK Finance and the Building Societies Association to clarify that savings providers can inform their customers of the best rates available to them, even where they have objected to direct marketing. The FCA and ICO confirm that firms … Continue Reading
On 14 July 2023, the FCA announced a temporary forbearance on MCOB 7.6.28.R. To support the Government’s Mortgage Charter, the FCA introduced changes to its rules enabling firms to allow mortgage borrowers to: · Reduce their capital repayments for up to six months. · Fully or partly reverse a term extension within 6 months of … Continue Reading
On 11 July 2023, HM Treasury published a response to its consultation on UK retail disclosure, which was published on 9 December 2022 as part of the Edinburgh Reforms. Previous consultation In its previous consultation, HM Treasury set out the government’s plans to revoke the Packaged Retail Investment and Insurance Products (PRIIPs) Regulation and sought views … Continue Reading
On 3 July 2023, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) published Policy Statement 7/23: Depositor Protection (PS7/23), which implements the final rules following Consultation Paper 9/22: Depositor Protection (CP9/22), issued in September 2022. The PRA notes that work is ongoing to consider whether further changes are needed to the depositor protection scheme, including in light of … Continue Reading
On 29 June 2023, HM Treasury announced that the Chancellor has agreed a new action plan with regulators to ensure consumers are being treated fairly and help those struggling to make payments. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has agreed to: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has agreed to: Ofcom has agreed to: Ofwat has … Continue Reading
On 29 June 2023, the FCA along with Ofcom, Ofgem, Ofwat and the UK Regulators Network (UKRN) have published a joint Dear CEO letter outlining their shared expectations of firms during the rising cost of living. The letter explains that, when dealing with customers in financial difficulty, all firms across the regulated financial services, energy, … Continue Reading
On 28 June 2023, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) published a speech by Abby Thomas, Chief Executive and Chief Ombudsman, delivered at the Consumer Duty Implementation Summit. The speech focussed on what the Consumer Duty (CD) means for resolving financial complaints. In her speech, Ms Thomas made the following points:… Continue Reading
On 23 June 2023, the Government reported that the Chancellor had met with the UK’s principal mortgage lenders and the FCA, to agree support for people struggling with mortgage repayments. The Government reports that the principal lenders – which cover over 75% of the market – have agreed to a new mortgage charter providing support … Continue Reading
On 7 June 2023, the European Council announced that it had reached provisional political agreement with the European Parliament on a draft Directive that updates the 2002 Directive on distance marketing of consumer financial services. Specifically, the draft Directive repeals the 2002 Directive and introduces new provisions for financial services contracts concluded at a distance … Continue Reading
On 1 June 2023, the FCA published a statement on the annual percentage rate of charge (APRC) calculations. The APRC is one measure used by lenders when disclosing the associated costs of a mortgage contract to customers, showing the annual cost of a mortgage over its lifetime. The statement explains that systems issues have led … 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
