This isn’t a note about insider dealing. It’s a note about independence and situations in which that might be compromised by an independent or external person becoming so vested in a firm that they become part of the home team rather than being a true outsider. This won’t always be the case. But there’s a […]
Author Archives: Ruth Finch
Outsiders becoming insiders
Posted in Articles
Tagged auditors, board, conflict of interests, independence, independent, independent non-executive directors, INEDs, insiders, outsiders, professional advisers
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What makes an effective Chair of the Board?
Not all firms have someone as the appointed chair of the board but, where they do, it’s a role that interests regulators. In very broad terms, I see the CEO function (SMF1), the chair of the board function (SMF9) and the chief risk officer function (SMF4) attracting the most regulatory attention. It’s common for the […]
Posted in Governance Reframed
Tagged board effectiveness, boards, Chair, culture, effectiveness, regulators
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Conflicts of interests for Boards
Conflicts of interests are relevant to all regulated firms in a number of ways. This note looks at conflicts of interests in the context of boards of directors. To begin, why do conflicts matter? Directors have a duty to shareholders to act honestly and in good faith. There’s an underlying principle that directors should not […]
Boards, NEDs and Challenge
One of the key responsibilities of a non-executive director is to hold management (including the executive directors) to account. That’s done through oversight, including by challenge. Over the last few years, I’ve picked up that ‘challenge’ is getting a bad rap and a NED who challenges management can be seen as difficult, not being a […]
Posted in Governance Reframed
Tagged boards, challenge, NEDs, non-executive directors, senior managers
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THE SUPREME COURT’S RULING IN THE MOTOR FINANCE COMMISSION CASES: SOME THOUGHTS
The Supreme Court gave its judgment on 1 August 2025 in three cases regarding motor finance commission[1]. Each of the cases involved issues about payment of commission by lenders to motor dealers in connection with providing finance for hire purchase of cars and where the commission isn’t disclosed – or is only partly disclosed – […]
Posted in Articles
Tagged Hopcraft, Johnson, motor finance, motor finance commission, Supreme Court, Supreme Court judgment, Wrench
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LIGHTER-TOUCH REGULATION BY THE FCA? POINTS TO CONSIDER
In the last six months, the Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA) has repositioned itself as a regulator for growth, in line with the Government’s growth agenda. There’s still a strong focus on consumer protection but this now sits alongside the growth agenda and the FCA is paying closer attention to the regulatory burden on firms […]
Posted in Articles
Tagged attestation, compliance, consumer duty, FCA, governance, growth agenda, regulation
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Recent motor finance cases and complaints handling
Plenty of other lawyers and commentators have written about the Court of Appeal’s judgment in three recent motor finance cases (Johnson, Wrench and Hopcraft)[1] relating to commissions paid by the lenders to car dealers who acted as credit brokers. Apart from some brief points, I’m going to look at some of the implications of the […]
Posted in Articles
Tagged complaints, complaints-handling, DCA commission, Johnson, motor finance, motor finance commission, non-DCA commission, Wrench & Hopcraft
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New and emerging non-financial risks – Part 3: Risk management and governance
This is the third and final article looking at new and emerging non-financial risks. It’s concerned with managing those risks and the wider governance arrangements firms will need to have in place. As I’ve said in the previous two articles, increased emphasis by firms and regulators on non-financial risks have made these risks at least […]
Posted in Articles
Tagged board, early warning indicators, enterprise risk management, governance, MI, non-financial risks, operational resilience, regulators, risk management, risk management framework
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New and emerging non-financial risks – Part 2: Not the technology-related non-financial risks
Non-financial risks have become at least as important, to both firms and regulators, as financial risks. This is mostly due to the importance of firms’ dependence on IT systems to operate their businesses but regulators (particularly the Financial Conduct Authority – the FCA) are also highlighting non-financial risks arising from newer regulatory topics, adding to […]
Posted in Articles
Tagged conduct risk, consumer duty, CP23/20, culture, D&I, diversity and inclusion, FCA, Financial Conduct Authority, financial exclusion, groupthink, non-financial misconduct, non-financial risks, retail customers, risk taxonomy, risks
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New and emerging non-financial risks – Part 1: Technology-related non-financial risks
Non-financial risks have become at least as important, to both firms and regulators, as financial risks. This is mostly due to the importance of firms’ dependence on IT systems to operate their businesses but regulators (particularly the Financial Conduct Authority – the FCA) are also highlighting non-financial risks arising from newer regulatory topics, adding to […]
Posted in Articles
Tagged AI, chatbot, concentration risk, contagion, FCA, Financial Conduct Authority, information security, machine-learning, model management, non-financial risks, operational resilience, regulators, technology risks
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