FCA’s Business Plan for 2019/2020 holds few surprises. It highlights 4 ongoing cross-sector priorities and three additional longer-term priorities. FCA will focus on:
- culture and governance, not least in SMCR extension implementation, implementation of the Directory and appraising remuneration culture;
- TCF, focusing on information firms give to their customers, looking at pricing practices and discrimination in key markets;
- operational resilience, including setting clear expectations on outsourcing to third party service providers;
- financial crime prevention, focusing on better use of technology and data and working with other agencies and government departments;
- the longer-term future of regulation;
- ensuring the customer’s interests are put first as firms innovate and use data in different ways, not least looking at the regulation of crypto-assets; and
- the intergenerational challenge.
Additionally, of course, FCA will be working to support a smooth transition post-Brexit and assessing the impact of Brexit on industry and consumers.
Other specific initiatives include further work on:
- assessment of PRIIPs;
- high-cost credit;
- suitability;
- the impact of the RDR and FAMR;
- the secure introduction of PSD2 and Open banking;
- the general insurance distribution chains review; and
- compliance with MAR.