It has been more than 15 months since the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) introduced the Consumer Duty for current products and over three months since its introduction for closed products. During that time, the FCA has gone from helping firms prepare for the duty's impact to scrutinising how they have implemented it.

The FCA's approach to supporting firms prior to implementation won praise from many quarters. With "dipstick" progress surveys to reviews that explored good and bad practices, the FCA issued extensive documentation to help firms prepare, understand and implement its expectations.

But as Sheldon Mills, executive director for consumers and competition at the FCA, said in a speech on the deadline date for duty implementation for closed products in July 2024, "this is not the beginning of the end…but the end of the beginning."

In that speech, Mills highlighted FCA planning, including thematic work across sectors and targeting specific sectors, products or services and a focus on pricing and value outcomes.

In this episode, Alex Robson, managing editor at Regulatory Intelligence, talks to Mike Cowan, senior regulatory intelligence expert, about the progress being made to embed the Consumer Duty in financial services firms, what recent enforcement activity means as the FCA looks to assess how firms are implementing the duty and what firms can do in future.

Links

COLUMN: TSB fine for mistreating financially distressed customers cites value of relationships over procedure: http://go-ri.tr.com/xte3nf

IMPACT ANALYSIS: Volkswagen's FCA fine in drives a lesson in customer outcomes: http://go-ri.tr.com/jLXAR7

IMPACT ANALYSIS: FCA fines PwC over not reporting London Capital & Finance suspicions: http://go-ri.tr.com/yKHVnC

Compliance Clarified is a podcast from Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence.
Listen to wide-ranging, insightful discussions on all things compliance for financial services firms. We delve into the hot topics of the day, the challenges faced and offer up practical ideas for emerging good practice. We de-mystify regulation and explore the art, as well as the science, of the ever-expanding role of the compliance officer. Enforcements, digital transformation, regulatory change, governance, culture, conduct risk – anything and everything impacting the compliance function is up for discussion.

CARTER 1981