Financial Services - Regulatory & Risk
It doesn't rain it pours… New capital adequacy rules for SIPP firms introduced from 1 September
SIPPs are never far from the headlines at the moment. The most recent issue for SIPP firms to deal with are the new capital adequacy requirements. The effect of the new rules is to place an increased capital burden on SIPP firms holding so-called "non-standard assets".
Read moreAs the FOS sees a spike in fraud complaints, we take a look back at a year of FOS complaints
The FOS has recently ordered a financial adviser to pay out after falling foul of an email fraud that caused the adviser to authorise the transfer of its client's money to the fraudsters' account.
Read moreDon’t blag it!
Yesterday the FCA fined and prohibited a sole trader for failure to act with integrity and repeatedly misleading the regulator.
Read moreIntroducers & Inappropriate Influence
Last week must have been a busy one for those working at the FCA.
Read morePension redress methodology – more changes afoot?
Unsuitable DB pension transfer to personal pension? Advisers have woken up this morning to the Financial Conduct Authority's announcement that next year may see an update to the methodology used to calculate redress due in such situations.
Read moreMAR: enhancing investor protection, market integrity and harmonising the market abuse regime across the EU
Karen Hendy, Corporate Partner, explains the benefits and implications of the all new Market Abuse Regulation and highlights the grey areas to be aware of.
Read moreSanctions: brainteasers with serious consequences
Failure to comply with financial sanctions carries serious penalties, most notably in the US, where banks have collectively paid billions of dollars in fines.
Read morePensions freedoms where are we now?
On 14 July 2016 the Financial Conduct Authority published three releases relating to pension freedoms. The releases provide an insight into the FCA's areas of concern following the introduction of the pension freedoms in April 2015.
Read morePension freedom advice complaints: Delays and insistent clients cause of concern for the FOS
Following reassuring news about low pension-related complaint numbers, the Financial Ombudsman's latest newsletter has revealed further details of the types of complaints they have received since the sweeping changes to the pension freedom rules in April of last year.
Read moreFCA focuses on suitability
Have you received a request from the FCA for your suitability reports recently?
Read moreAdvising on accessing pension pots, is there gold at the end of the rainbow?
As readers of this blog will know, sweeping changes were made to the UK pensions industry in April 2015 which allowed retirees to access the full value of their pension fund without the need to purchase an annuity.
Read moreThe subtleties of suitability
IFAs can expect guidance from the FCA about how to produce shorter client suitability reports following last month's publication of the Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR), the FCA has confirmed.
Read morePension Ombudsman, SIPPs and the uncertainty
SIPP trustees and administrators don't have to consider suitability, the Pension Ombudsman has found in a recent complaint.
Read morePRA refreshes Corporate Governance approach in Supervisory Statement
There remain, in our view, a few issues which the PRA has not directly addressed, perhaps intentionally to allow firms the flexibility to interpret the regulator's requirements in accordance with their business model.
Read moreSupreme Court takes stock of law on vicarious liability
The Supreme Court has recently taken a very wide view of vicarious liability (where third parties can hold employers civilly liable for the actions of their employees), as I reported today in full on our Commercial Disputes blog.
Read moreFCA to allow FOS and FSCS claims over P2P advice
Consumers who receive advice on peer-to-peer lending should have recourse to FOS and the FSCS, the FCA confirmed this week.
Read moreMind the gap: FAMR report is light on de-regulation
Following its launch in August 2015, the Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR) has this morning published its final report.
Read moreUT confirms interim permission lapses on FCA decision to refuse authorisation
Firms still waiting for their regulatory approval of a full consumer credit licence should not be particularly surprised at the recent decision of the Upper Tribunal:
Read moreBlock Notifications and Robo-advice
The recent case of Ocean Finance & Mortgages Ltd v Oval Insurance Broking Ltd provides useful guidance on the often contentious issue of making block notifications to PI insurers.
Read moreCMC fees: money for nothing?
Do regulated Claims Management Companies charge too much in fees for consumers making financial services claims? The Ministry of Justice wants your views.
Read moreFCA may not be value for money, says NAO
The National Audit Office has reported its findings on the roles and effectiveness of the FCA, FOS and the FSCS in the management of mis-selling cases.
Read moreA liability perspective: what would Brexit mean for financial advisers?
You cannot pick up a paper or check the news without seeing some reference to Brexit and the case for either staying in or leaving the Euro zone.
Read moreAdviser due diligence thematic review report short and not to the point
There's an irony in a report on due diligence being, in effect, just 2 pages long. The FCA's thematic review report today tells us more by what it doesn't say. What might DD stand for?
Read moreHill marches up and down again - MiFID II delayed
Last week, it was confirmed that MiFID II will be delayed for another year.
Read moreThe FCA and Upper Tribunal
The FCA's 'further decision notice' on Mr Tariq Carrimjee (senior partner and CEO of Somerset Asset Management) revealed that, the regulator has taken on board the Tribunal's view that banning Mr Carrimjee from all regulated activity would be 'irrational and disproportionate', and it has instead decided to prohibit him from performing compliance oversight (CF10) and money laundering reporting functions (CF11).
Read moreStandstills, FOS and time limits
FOS applies its own time limits when considering complaints.
Read moreGrandfathering grumbles - PRA and FCA highlight failings in S(I)MR
In the past few days both the PRA and FCA have reminded banks and insurers of the 8 February deadline for the submission of grandfathering notifications for individuals to perform roles under the Senior Managers Regime and the Senior Insurance Managers Regime.
Read moreFCA – feeling the political heat?
The FCA escaped a vote of "no confidence" during last night's debate in the House of Commons, despite facing a barrage of scathing remarks from MPs.
Read moreFCA announces consultation on role of GCs in regulated firms
We are so accustomed to dissembling by politicians and others in public life that it is heartening to see individuals or institutions that are prepared to acknowledge responsibility for their mistakes.
Read moreFCA announces rejection of change of control application
It is rare for the FCA's objection to a change of control notification to ever become public.
Read moreThe politics of regulation
Today's news about Andrew Bailey's appointment as CEO of the FCA is a significant and, no doubt, highly political appointment.
Read morePRA fines and bans former CEO and MD of Co-op Bank
In its recent action against former senior figures at the Co-op Bank the PRA has highlighted the impact of the Senior Managers Regime on such enforcement cases, even though this was a case brought under the (now discredited) approved persons regime.
Read moreFX trader fails in third-party rights challenge to FCA
The Upper Tribunal has rejected the well-publicised complaint by Christopher Ashton that the FCA identified him in two decision notices without giving him the opportunity to make representations - because the Tribunal concluded that he was not identified at all.
Read more'Dear CEO letter' to debt management firms clarifies FCA's expectations on transfer of customers or their information
Following ongoing consolidation in the debt management market, Jonathan Davidson, FCA Director of Supervision (Retail and Authorisations), has published a 'Dear CEO letter' which sets out the FCA's expectations of debt management firms when customers or customer information are being transferred.
Read moreGetting ahead of the curve: EBA consults on 'robo-advisers'
Technology will transform the financial advice world, and this transformation has already begun.
Read moreShow me the money: new capital requirements for PIFs
Last week the FCA released its Policy Statement PS15/28: Capital resources requirements for personal investment firms (PIFs) updating rules that set the amount of capital to be held by directly authorised PIFs which date back to 1994.
Read moreLitigation privilege: A tangled web unwoven
Deception undermines the "dominant purpose" necessary for a claim to litigation privilege in the most recent instalment in the ongoing saga of Property Alliance Group Ltd v Royal Bank of Scotland Plc.
Read moreIFAs quizzed by FCA over insistent clients
The FCA has asked IFAs to explain how they deal with situations where clients wish to act against advice on pension transfers.
Read morePRA fines bank for outsourcing failures
Last week, the PRA announced that it had imposed a fine of over £1.2 million on R. Raphael & Sons plc.
Read moreFCA frustrated by continuing shortcomings in wealth management sector but must accept subtleties of suitability
The FCA's thematic review report published today expresses concern about some wealth management firms who are still not getting suitability right despite five years of regulatory 'communications'.
Read moreDelegation of regulated activities – warning from the FCA
Adviser firms delegating regulated activities to unregulated third parties have been removed from the FCA's Christmas card list following a notice issued this week.
Read moreFCA has increasing appetite to use alternative enforcement penalties
In a recent appearance before the Treasury Select Committee the FCA has hinted that it may make further use of its restriction and suspension powers as an alternative as well as an addition to the power to impose financial penalties.
Read moreSmall businesses; large losses?
On Friday the FCA published a wide ranging discussion paper in which it seeks comments on proposed changes to the way in which it, and the FOS, deals with SME businesses.
Read morePOPLA likely to be more popular after Supreme Court rejects parking ticket appeal
The Supreme Court decision in ParkingEye v Beavis has attracted much attention, not least because it was all about a £85 parking fine.
Read moreSkilled persons focus on CASS and Conduct in small firms
The FCA has published statistics on the skilled persons reports commissioned in Q2 2015/16.
Read morePrivileged Information
As every lawyer knows, legal professional privilege is a tricky area and can be hotly contested.
Read moreICO upholds FCA decision not to disclose list of countries posing a high money laundering risk
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has recently published a decision notice in which the ICO has upheld the FCA's decision to refuse to disclose certain information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) relating to countries which the FCA deems to present a high money laundering risk.
Read moreBuilt on sand?
At the Treasury's request, the FCA has published plans for a 'regulatory sandbox' in which businesses can play with new, innovative products, services and business models without "all the normal regulatory consequences".
Read moreSpooky new powers for the FCA
We all thought that Halloween was last week, right? Wrong!
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