FCA has published its most recent porfolio strategy letters for:
Common themes in the letters are:
- that the response to the pandemic has shown FCA and firms working well together and that the ongoing implications of the pandemic are likely to remain a significant influence on the work of both firms and the regulator;
- key risks of harm over the next couple of years in respect of retail mortgage business:
- supporting customers in financial difficulty;
- managing maturing interest only mortgages;
- responsible lending;
- financial resources (for non-credit institution lenders);
- LIBOR transition;
- TCF for vulnerable customers;
- improving diversity and inclusion;
- helping mortgage prisoners and
- ESG
- for building societies, an additional wider focus on:
- better addressing customer needs and improving product design and governance;
- operational risks including resilience, robust systems to counter IT risks and insufficient due diligence on intermediaries;
- fair treatment of customers;
- the consumer duty;
- how firms should consider current FCA publications and initiatives; and
- that firms should reflect on the issues in the letter to challenge how they operate.