The FCA has set out its priorities under the Consumer Duty for the rest of 2024 and 2025. These are:
- embedding the Duty and raising standards: within this priority, the FCA wants to understand how firms are improving consumer outcomes and will look at:
- reviewing board reports and complaints and root cause analysis;
- assessing how firms treat customers in vulnerable circumstances; and
- how firms support customers across the customer journey and help them to make informed decisions.
- enhancing understanding of the price and value outcome: the FCA recognises that firms have struggled to understand what is required of them. It plans particularly to look at specific areas, including treatment of cash values on platforms, pure protection insurance, unit-linked pensions and long term savings and premium finance;
- sector specific priorities: generally the FCA will be looking at areas of existing concern through a Consumer Duty lens, and its sector focuses will include:
- for retail banking, how banks are dealing with cases of bereavement and power of attorney;
- whether digital tools help consumers well enough in understanding credit agreements;
- clarity of FC pricing in payment services;
- the advice guidance boundary;
- poor identification by wealth managers of vulnerable customers;
- PRIIPs and the new CCI regime;
- claims handling arrangements;
- SDR and investment labels; and
- realising the benefits of the Duty: the FCA will set out its next steps in the first half of 2025, following its call for input on how it could simplify retail rules.