Author Archives: Ruth Finch

Compromises – some thoughts on the FCA’s guidance

The FCA has issued Finalised Guidance on its approach to compromises for regulated firms (FG22/4; July 2022). It says that this is in the context of the increase it’s seeing in the number of firms proposing compromises to deal with significant liabilities to consumers, particularly redress liabilities. Compromises are arrangements between a firm and its […]

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The Consumer Duty and the SMCR

As discussed in other articles in this series on the proposed new Consumer Duty, the Financial Conduct Authority is seeking a ‘reset’ in the retail financial services market. Firms must act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers and must achieve four consumer outcomes relating to products and services, price and value, consumer understanding and […]

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The Consumer Duty – the consumer support outcome

Support given by firms can enable consumers to make the most of the products and services they buy – realise the value and benefits, allowing consumers to pursue their financial objectives and ensure they can act in their own interests. CP21/36, A new Consumer Duty: feedback to CP21/13 and further consultation (issued on 7 December […]

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The Consumer Duty – the consumer understanding outcome

The proposed consumer understanding outcome rules might appear, on the face of them, to be less significant than the other consumer outcome rules. However, the FCA is clear in CP21/36, A new Consumer Duty: feedback to CP21/13 and further consultation (issued on 7 December 2021), that consumers can only be expected to take responsibility for […]

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The Consumer Duty – the price and value outcome

The underlying premiss of the price and value outcome rules is that that the price of products and services must be proportionate to their value. Customers should be confident that the firm they deal with (and each other firm in the value chain) has taken steps to ensure that the product or service represents fair […]

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The Consumer Duty – the products and services outcome

The draft products and services outcome rules set out in CP21/36, A new Consumer Duty: feedback to CP21/13 and further consultation, issued on 7 December 2021, appear to cover familiar ground. The Financial Conduct Authority refers to the rules providing a range of requirements, including the need for firms to: Ensure that the design of […]

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The Consumer Duty – the cross-cutting rules

There are three parts to the Consumer Duty: The Consumer Principle – a high-level standard setting out the behaviour the Financial Conduct Authority expects to see from firms when dealing with consumers and in the retail financial services market. Cross-cutting rules – overarching requirements that set standards of conduct across all areas of a firm’s […]

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The Consumer Duty – the Consumer Principle

There are three parts to the new Consumer Duty: The Consumer Principle – a high-level standard setting out the behaviour the Financial Conduct Authority expects to see from firms when dealing with consumers and in the retail financial services market. Cross-cutting rules – overarching requirements that set standards of conduct across all areas of a […]

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The new Consumer Duty – an overview

A “significant change and a unique regulatory intervention” is how the Financial Conduct Authority describes its proposals for the new Consumer Duty in CP21/36, A new Consumer Duty: feedback to CP21/13 and further consultation, issued on 7 December 2021. That is almost certainly an understatement. CP21/36 – and particularly the draft guidance document at the […]

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WHAT MAKES A BOARD ‘EFFECTIVE’ IN 2022?

Board effectiveness reviews are now part of the corporate governance landscape, carried out annually and often with external involvement in the form of questions, assessment and peer comparisons. But what made the Board of a bank or other financial institution ‘effective’ a few years ago won’t hit the mark in 2022. The broad themes look […]

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