Emma RadmoreThe second edition of FCA’s Enforcement Watch looks at its approach to supervising and enforcing the Consumer Duty. The FCA recognised that firms needed time to embed the Duty, and now, three years in, it has 11...
Category - Conduct
Stephen Wilson
PRA publishes annual report
The PRA’s annual report, published alongside the BoE’s, looks at the activities of the past year to support its regulatory objectives. The report includes summaries of the work on: Basel 3.1 implementation...
FCA consults on no more Consumer Duty for overseas business
The FCA is consulting on plans to simplify its rules more for wholesale businesses involved in retail markets. It plans to: remove all business for “genuinely” non-UK customers from the scope of the Consumer...
FCA plans to fine individual for disclosure failures
The FCA has decided to find the Chief Executive of BancTrust, Carlos Fuenmayor, nearly £100,000 for having failed to tell the FCA about 3 issues that would have been material to its assessment of his fitness and...
Committee stage for FSM Bill to start on 22 June
The Financial Services and Markets Bill had its second reading in the Lords on 8 June and has now been scheduled for the Committee stage starting from 22 June. At second reading, Lord Stockwood introduced the Bill for...
FSM Bill to have second reading
The Financial Services and Markets Bill is scheduled to have its second reading in the House of Lords on 8 June.
FCA publishes skilled persons report update
The FCA has published details of the number of skilled persons reports commissioned between 1 January and 301 March 2026. There were 4 in total, relating to consumer investments (2), insurance and payment and digital...
FCA wants fin prom approvers to do better
The FCA has reviewed a selection of 10 firms that approve financial promotions. It selected firms who were approving promotions for unregulated BNPL, crowdfunding and corporate finance firms.While it was pleased that...
SMCR changes – what difference will Phase 1 make?
Read our article that looks at the immediate SMCR changes that are already in force or coming soon, ahead of more changes to come.
Financial Services and Markets Bill starts legislative process
The Financial Services and Markets Bill has been published and has started its parliamentary passage in the House of Lords, where it has had its first reading but the second reading, which is when debate starts, does...
Government responds on cross-cutting reforms
The Government has published its response to its consultation on cross cutting reforms as part of the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy. It has confirmed that it will: legislate to set the shorter...
King’s Speech confirms promised regulatory reforms
The King’s Speech, given on 13 May, was expected to cover several of the regulatory reforms already consulted on. While not all the development were mentioned in the speech itself, the Briefing notes accompanying...
FCA publishes latest whistleblowing data
The FCA has published whistleblowing data for Q1 2026. Numbers were up on both the previous quarter, and the same quarter last year, with 355 new reports (with over 900 allegations in total) being received against under...
Treasury, PRA and FCA confirm SMCR changes
HM Treasury, the PRA and FCA have published updates on SMCR reform. Treasury has published its response to its 2025 consultation on the reforms, which confirms that it will: remove the statutory requirements for...
Regulators reject AI “wait and see” criticism
The Treasury Committee has published responses from the Treasury, FCA and BoE to its report on AI in financial services which warned of the risks of poor AI supervision. All three regulators reject the characterisation...
Laura WilesFCA blogs on Year 2 Consumer Duty Board reports
A blog from Jonathan Pearson, head of consumer policy at the FCA, notes that now that firms are into the third cycle of Consumer Duty board reports, the FCA has seen gradual improvement in report quality, but that firms...
Terminating a contract: how to get it right
Read our article on what to make sure of before you terminate a contract.
Victoria FergusonFCA updates on Connect form submission
The FCA is making changes to application and notification forms on Connect. It is redesigning forms to make them more intuitive and is also taking the opportunity to improve the strucutre of some of its questions and to...
APPG publishes call for action on conduct regulation
Following publication of its report following the call for evidence about the FCA, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services has published the cover note to accompany a further...
FCA publishes work programme
The FCA has published its work programme for 2026/27 together with its perimeter report. The plans stress the FCA’s drive to be a smarter, more data driven regulator, and include detail on how it will use AI to...
Treasury updates on Women in Finance Charter
HM Treasury has published its annual review of progress by signatories of the Women in Finance Charter. 42% of the 210 signatories met their targets for female representation in senior manager, with a further 29% having...
FCA perimeter report calls for Government action
The FCA’s perimeter report has identified 15 areas where the FCA wants to see change from the government, including: removing self-certification for FPO purposes and raising the thresholds for the HNWI and...
Skills Commission finds AI skills increasingly in demand
A new report from the Financial Services Skills Commission shows that changes in technology are pressurising financial institutions to continually adjust their skills strategies, with skills gaps being a moving target...
PRA fines Bank of London group entities
The PRA has fined The Bank of London Group Limited and its parent financial holding company Oplyse Holdings Limited £2m. It found that, between October 2021 and May 2024 the firms had: misled the PRA over their capital...
FCA to make motor finance announcement on 30 March
The FCA has confirmed that it will set out its approach on motor finance redress soon after markets close on 30 March.
FCA tells firms to get ready for NFM changes
The FCA has published a new page on its website summarising the effects of the new Non Financial Misconduct rules for non-banks, which take effect on 1 September, and telling firms what they should be doing to prepare...
FCA gives guidance on targeted support consumer segments
The FCA has published some practical examples of good and poor practice to help firms in making judgements when designing consumer segments in targeted support models. It stresses that the guidance is not a template...
Regulators publish new rules on operational incident and third party reporting
The FCA and PRA have published their new rules on operational incident and third-party reporting. The new rules are aimed at helping the regulators respond quickly to disruptions, giving firms greater certainty on what...
FCA publishes Consumer Investment Regulatory Priorities Report
The second of the FCA’s new Regulatory Priorities reports is for the consumer investments sub-sector. It highlights recent key policy decisions and changes, specifically the upcoming targeted support and CCI...
FCA updates Consumer Duty resources
The FCA has created a new webpage about the Consumer Duty. The main page summarises what the Duty is and highlights what the FCA expects to see in each outcome. It also notes its recognition that smaller firms, while...
FCA updates Consumer Duty Board report advice for smaller firms
The FCA has updated the page on its website where it shares its views on good and poor practice in Consumer Duty Board reports to share some additional insights relevant to smaller firms. It notes that most of the...
Treasury consults on AR regime changes
HM Treasury has published its long-awaited consultation on reforming the Appointed Representatives regime. It has remained concerned that while the regime is important, and necessary, poor oversight of representatives...
Data (Use and Access) Act 2025: majority of changes related to data protection now in force
The UK’s data protection landscape shifted again on 5 February 2026 with the arrival of a major implementation milestone under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA). The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Commencement...
Sheilah MackieRegulators write again to CMCs on motor finance commission claim risks
The FCA and SRA have written to claims management companies and law firms involved in motor finance commission claims again. This time, the regulators are warning firms to make sure claimants do not have multiple...
PRA and FCA announce first scale-up unit firms
6 banks and building societies have been accepted to the first cohort of the PRA and FCA’s new joint scale-up unit. The unit is designed to help growing, innovative firms develop new products, move into new...
Treasury updates on Women in Finance Charter
HM Treasury has published a progress update on the Women in Finance Charter. Priorities from the 2024/25 review are reducing the gender pay gap and improving the representation of women in finance, particularly for the...
Treasury Select Committee warns of risks of poor AI supervision
The Treasury Select Committee has published its report on the use of AI by financial institutions. The report, summarising the results of an inquiry that started nearly a year ago, notes that AI and wider technology...
PRA publishes 2026 supervisory plans
The PRA has published its supervisory priorities for 2026. Its main plans focus on streamlining supervision, so that periodic supervisory meetings and other activities will move to a two year cycle – an initiative...
FCA publishes good and bad practices in complex ETP sales
The FCA has published some examples of good practice and areas for improvement within firms that sell complex ETPs to retail consumers. These are, broadly, exchange traded funds, commodities and notes, but can now also...
FCA publishes highlights from Leeds Growth Sprint
The FCA has published the highlights from an event it held in Leeds in late October, in which the Chancellor and the FCA discussed various growth initiatives, such as the concierge, scale-up and PAS services, and...
FCA publishes final NFM guidance
The FCA has published its final guidance to all firms on how to address non-financial misconduct. The guidance follows its decision to align the rules on NFM for banks and non-banks, when it made changes that take...
FCA not to proceed with capital deduction for redress plans
The FCA has finally confirmed it will not be proceeding with its proposals to require personal investment firms to set aside capital for potential redress liabilities at an early stage. It says it has made this decision...
Regulators update Regulatory Initiatives Grid
The latest edition of the Regulatory Initiatives Grid updates on timelines for 124 live initiatives across the 9 organisations covered by the grid. The press release heralding the publication highlights the themes of:...
FCA consults on rule clarifications
The FCA is consulting on various rule changes to: resolve uncertainties in current rules; make some current rules clearer or more proportionate; and resolve conflicts and duplications. General changes update and remove...
FCA publishes package of investment regulation reforms
The FCA has published its long-awaited decisions and further proposals on reforms to how it regulates the conduct of investment business. The package comprises: consultation on client categorisation and conflicts of...
Regulators report on mutuals
The PRA and FCA have published a report on the mutuals landscape, looking at the importance of mutuals to the financial sector, and the measures the regulators take to ensure proportionality in regulation. The report...
PRA publishes annual credit union sector assessment
The PRA’s latest assessment of the credit union sector highlights the regulator’s view of the key risks to credit unions with total assets up to £50m. It addresses the particular risks relating to:...
FCA publishes skilled persons data for Q2 2025
The FCA has published its latest data on skilled persons reports, covering 1 July – 30 September 2025. During this period, the FCA commissioned 6 skilled persons reports: 2 reports related to insurance, 1 to...
FCA speaks on bespoke customer needs
Sarah Pritchard has spoken of how considering the individual characteristics of consumers is critical to helping their financial well being. She said the FCA is working on guiding consumers on what is best for them in...
FCA finds Consumer Duty issues at CFD providers
The FCA has carried out a review of CFD providers‘ Consumer Duty compliance, specifically looking at whether they meet the price and value outcome. It included around a quarter of providers in the review. It has...
Firm loses appeal on “name and shame”
A firm (not yet named) has lost its appeal against an FCA decision to publicise the fact that it is under investigation and release the firm’s name in doing so. The judge granted permission for judicial review of...
Treasury launches Financial Inclusion Strategy
HM Treasury has launched its new Financial Inclusion Strategy, which includes Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays, Nationwide and Santander expanding on the partnership Shelter has with HSBC, so that homeless people will be able...
FOS sees sharp drop in cases
The latest quarterly data on complaints from the FOS show new cases dropping by more than a third, largely because professional representatives are bringing fewer cases since the FOS changed its charging model. The FOS...
FCA updates Treasury Committee on Sexism in the City
The Treasury Committee has published its latest letter to the FCA and the FCA’s response on progress following the Sexism in the City enquiry and report. The Committee asked the FCA for an update on progress...
Regulators publish guidance on cyber response and recovery
The BoE, PRA and FCA have published guidance to firms and FMIs setting out some good practices they have seen on cyber response and recovery capabilities. It hopes boards can use the findings to support discussions...
Michael LewisPIMFA study calls for clearer regulation
PIMFA has published the results of a recent study that shows its members want clearer and more consistent regulatory communication, as regulatory change is consuming significant resource that they could otherwise put on...
FCA consults on motor finance redress scheme
The FCA has decided that a compensation scheme for customers treated unfairly when taking out motor finance is the right way to go, and is consulting on the terms of the scheme. Its research shows that: based on data...
Treasury Committee publishes insurance company letters
The Treasury Committee wrote to Admiral, Axa, Scottish Widows and Aviva asking questions designed mainly to establish whether they are treating customers fairly. Each insurer was asked specific questions which they had...
FCA seeks views on providing fair access to LSE data centre rooftop
The FCA is seeking views on whether the LSE Group and the landlord of the LSE data centre building have hindered competition for low latency connectivity services (LLCS) between certain trading venues. At present, only...
FCA removes more data returns
The FCA has continued its policy of reducing the burden on firms of submitting regulatory returns. Firms will no longer have to complete REP008 in respect of disciplinary action against non-senior managers for Conduct...
Employment cases update August 2025
This month, we look at Woodhead v WTTV Ltd and another where the High Court had to decide if the employer had breached its duty of care to an employee accused of sexual harassment. In Stedman v Haven Leisure Ltd, the...
Karen Plumbley-JonesFOS consults on case fee restructuring
The FOS is consulting on changing the way it charges its case fees, so that firms pay less for complaints that are resolved at an early stage of the investigation process. Currently firms pay £650 for each case the FOS...
FCA review shows firms continue to see “off-channel” breaches
The FCA has carried out a review on how firms approach communications that take place outside of monitored and recorded channels. It carried out the review specifically with wholesale banks and other firms within scope...
FCA fines Woodford and former director £46m for management failures
The FCA has issued fines totalling almost £46m to Woodford Investment Management (WIM) and its former director and investment manager, Neil Woodford, for failures in their management of the Woodford Equity Income Fund...
FCA warns CMCs on motor finance promotions
The FCA has formally warned CMCs that they must ensure any financial promotions they put out about motor finance claims are Consumer Duty compliant. It has had increasing interaction with CMC firms and, between 1...
FOS motor finance appeal scheduled for September 2025
Following the much awaited Supreme Court judgment in the Johnson, Wrench and Hopcraft cases, FOS has announced that the Court of Appeal hearing on DCAs in motor finance will take place from 16 – 18 September 2025...
Motor finance commission: Supreme Court allows lender appeals
The Supreme Court has delivered its long-awaited judgment on motor finance commissions, and has allowed lender appeals on 2 of the 3 matters under appeal. It upheld only the CCA unfair relationship claim.�This post has been drafted on the basis of Lord Reed’s speech. We will publish updated and more detailed articles in the light of the published judgment.
Delivering the judgment, Lord Reed described the nature of the relationships involved. He focussed on how the car dealer is dependent on the finance being agreed in order to sell a car. He spoke of various actions the dealer could take if, for instance, the lender would not advance enough credit or the monthly payments would be too much for the customer to pay. The key, he said, is that the dealer has a commercial interest in the negotiations over the finance package, which will continue until the package is entered into.
He moved on to discuss how the consumer does not deal directly with the finance company, although the loan agreement is directly between the consumer and the finance company. The motor dealer will make all the arrangements. It does not act as agent of the customer, is not remunerated by the customer and does not give the customer any reassurance that it is putting its commercial interests aside – and it could not do that! The Supreme Court noted that FCA rules require the dealer to disclose that commission is receivable if it could affect the dealer’s impartiality or have a material impact on the customer’s decision, but that nothing in the regulatory regime requires lender or dealers to disclose the existence or amount of any commission payment or to get the customer’s consent.
The customers seeking to recover from the lenders the commission that had been paid to the brokers all contended that:
the finance companies committed the common law tort of bribery by paying commission to the dealers
the dealers owed the customers a fiduciary duty and as such could not have any personal interest in the conclusion of the transaction and if that is so, acceptance of the commission was a breach of this, and the lenders had dishonestly assisted in the breach by paying the commission
Mr Johnson additionally claimed the relationship was unfair under the CCA.
The Supreme Court, noting that the Court of Appeal’s stance had shocked the lenders and the FCA, stated:
the payment of commission was not a bribe. The car dealers clearly and properly had an interest in the finance being arranged, and clearly wanted to sell the vehicles at a profit, and so clearly owed no duty to the customers. Each of the 3 parties (lender, dealer, customer) was engaged at arm’s length pursuing their own interests, and no-one could think otherwise;
for the same reason, no-one could think the dealer was acting as a fiduciary because it was at all times pursuing its commercial interests. The Supreme Court said that the distinguishing obligation of a fiduciary is often described as a “duty of single-minded loyalty to the person for whom they act”;
the Court of Appeal had failed to understand that the dealer had its own interests and mistakenly thought the dealer was acting in the interests of the customer once the customer had chosen the car. It was also wrong to take the approach that because the customer trusted the dealer and may have been vulnerable this meant that the dealer was acting as fiduciary.
So the Court of Appeal was wrong on the first two issues. On the unfair relationships issue, the Supreme Court said that the fact there may have been no or only partial disclosure of commission did not of itself make a relationship unfair. There are many factors to consider. Here, a major factor was that the commission was 55% of the total charge for credit, and that large figure is a good indication of unfairness.� Additionally here the documentation was misleading in that they did not disclose that the dealer and lender had an agreement that gave the lender first refusal – in fact it gave the impression that the dealer would go to a panel of lenders to get the best price for the loan. The fact that Mr Johnson did not read any of the documents he was given was not a persuasive factor against a decision of unfairness, given that the information in question was well hidden – even though, had Mr Johnson read it, it could have led him to discover the amount of the commission. The Supreme Court said the lender should pay to Mr Johnson the amount of commission plus a commercial rate of interest, and that because what the Court of Appeal had said was full of mistakes, the lender’s appeal had to be allowed so as to substitute an order in Mr Johnson’s favour on different terms to the Court of Appeal’s.
The Supreme Court also explained that it had refused the Treasury’s application to intervene since the Treasury wanted to discuss the economic impact of any decision, which is not within the Court’s interest.
FCA calls for better use of friction in digital loan processes
The FCA has reviewed how firms design digital and in-app loan processes, and, while it has seen much helpful behaviour such as clear, simple language and explanations, it also found that some processes: lack the...
SRA and FCA warn claims managers over motor finance commission claims
The SRA and the FCA have put out a warning to relevant law firms and CMCs reminding them they must comply with the correct rules on handling motor finance commission claims. It warns that if, following the Supreme Court...
Regulators identify 5 live “wider implications” issues
The latest log of wider implications issues that potentially affect large numbers of consumers, where there could be significant redress or where there is a risk of business failure identifies 5 recent, new and ongoing...
Supreme Court to give motor finance commission ruling on 1 August
The Supreme Court is to hand down its judgment in the FirstRand Bank v Johnson case at 4:35 on Friday 1 August.� While waiting for it, you can listen to our podcast to remind yourself of what’s happened so far.
Employment legislation update – July 2025
This month we include a short update on the Employment Rights Bill, which is still going through the Parliamentary process. The Bill is expected to be given Royal Assent and become the Employment Rights Act in the...
Employment cases update – July 2025
Our case law update this month includes Hendy Group Ltd v Kennedy, which dealt with an unfair dismissal where the employer had failed to look for suitable alternative employment for an employee in a redundancy situation...
FCA makes first set of mortgage reform rules
Following its short consultation, the FCA has finalised the package of measures that will achieve the first stage of the planned mortgage reforms. The changes address primarily remortgaging and will make it easier for...
FCA and ICO set out thoughts on Open Finance and Smart Data
The Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum has published the joint views of the FCA and the ICO on the technologies that are shaping Open Finance and the regulatory questions stemming from its development. APIs are likely to remain key to Open Finance and Smart Data as they facilitate real time, secure and trusted data exchange. So common standards and strong interoperability across sectors and providers will be essential. Another key driver could be AI which has the potential to carry out many key chores including automating data cleaning and preparation, enhance fraud detection, assess creditworthiness, deliver advice and recommendations and help consumers to open accounts and switch products.� However, with that comes risks, not least addressing questions around automated decision-making, transparency and explainability.
There is also the potential for DLT and smart contracts to play a role, which could, for example, automate administrative tasks, improve data integrity and security and track the flow of data for easier auditing. But, again, there are risks, such as it being potentially difficult to revoke access to or correct data, and it may be unclear who is responsible if things go wrong.
More generally, the key regulatory issues are:
balancing evolution of technology with fostering trust in new products and services and delivering good outcomes for consumers;
organisations ensuring they consider which lawful basis for processing data is most appropriate to enable the required data sharing;
what effective data minimisation would look like;
achieving transparency and consumer understanding when AI is used;
the role of regulators; and
embedding trust.
Mansion House speech supports Leeds Reforms
The Chancellor’s Mansion House speech, delivered in the evening of 15 July, highlighted many of the Leeds reforms, and set out the Chancellor’s key priorities. She highlighted: for capital raising, recent changes to the...
Government and regulators consult on SMCR reforms
HM Treasury is consulting on SMCR reform. Specifically, it seeks views on: the removal of the Certification regime from the legislation that created the SMCR, something that was promised in the Mansion House speech in...
Government announces “Leeds reforms”
After the Edinburgh reforms, we now have the Leeds reforms! The Government has announced an ambitious package of measures to attract inward investment into the UK and financial services businesses. Rachel Reeves announced the UK’s first Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness sector plan. The plans include:
giving consumers support to invest;
create good skilled jobs;
encouraging banks to offer investment opportunities to people with cash in low-interest accounts;
encouraging the industry to highlight to consumers the opportunity to invest when they can – the Government says that, based on current trends, if consumers move �2,000 from low interest accounts into stocks and shares, they could be over �9,000 better off in 20 years’ time;
the BoE will allow more lending at over 4.5 times a buyer’s income and simplified FCA Rules, if adopted, will make remortgaging easier. The changes will also allow the Nationwide to make its “Helping Hands” scheme available to lower income borrowers – now the thresholds are �30,000 for solo and �50,000 for joint applicants (�5,000 lower than previously);
there will be a new government-backed Mortgage Guarantee Scheme to ensure high loan-to-value mortgages are available in times of economic uncertainty;
FOS will need to align its decisions more closely with FCA rules;
the SMCR will be radically streamlined;
the FCA is to review how the Consumer Duty affects and applies to wholesale firms;
the MREL threshold will be raised to �25-49bn;
the Basel 3.1 rules will come in from January 2027;
reform of the ring-fencing regime;
a major FPC review of bank capital requirements;
providing bespoke support to fintechs;
greater financial capacity for the British Business Bank; and
progressing the Berne Financial Services Agreement, so that it is fully implemented by the end of the year.
See our separate posts on some of these initiatives!
FCA annual report highlights key stats
The FCA’s annual report highlights its work in several areas, including: to tackle financial crime and unauthorised financial services, it suspended, removed or blocked over 1,600 websites in 2024 – also working with...
FCA to review client categorisation rules
The FCA says it is planning to consult on reform of the investment client categorisation rules to allow firms to act more proportionately when dealing with wealthy or sophisticated investors. The paper, on reform of the...
FCA finalises non-financial misconduct rules extension and consults on guidance
The FCA has finalised new rules amending the scope of COCON to extend the existing non-financial misconduct (NFM) rules for banks to non-banks. Currently, COCON applies primarily, in respect of non-banks, to conduct forming part of the firm’s SMCR financial activities.
The FCA is also consulting on additional guidance in COCON and FIT. The draft guidance contains:
detail on the scope of COCON, including:
the boundary between work and private life;
when conduct is outside of a firm’s SMCR financial activities; and
when NFM may be out of scope in a non-bank;
factors to consider when determining whether NFM breaches the conduct rules;
examples of reasonable steps for managers to protect staff; and
explanatory material on how various types of conduct, including NFM, are relevant to FIT.
The consultation closes on 10 September 2025 and the made new rules amending the scope of COCON take effect from 1 September 2026, both in line with the conduct breach reporting period and to allow the FCA time to finalise any guidance it might want to make. The changes to COCON will not apply retrospectively, so will not require firms to do any retrospective analysis of whether they have incorrectly determined a rule breach in the past.� The FCA notes in its feedback that if non-banks had not appreciated the restricted scope of COCON and have disciplined an employee for conduct that they thought was a COCON rule breach, they should both update their past breach notifications and ensure they do not include any such breach in Question F of the regulatory reference form – although it may still be relevant under Question G.
The FCA has chosen not to take forward guidance on the relevance of NFM and discriminatory practices in firms to its assessment of their suitability to undertake regulatory activities (in COND), and guidance to remind firms that they may need to disclose NFM at work or in private life in a regulatory reference (in SYSC) – it believes its existing guidance on this point is sufficient.
Treasury makes recommendations for Women in Finance Charter signatories
HM Treasury has published a report on the progress of the Women in Finance Charter signatories, and how they can accelerate. On average, signatories increased female representation in senior management to 36% in 2024...
Government consults on CCA reform
The Government is consulting on how it will take forward reform of the CCA. It has decided to split the reform into 2 phases. The first phase covers information requirements, sanctions and criminal offences. on...
FCA publishes 2024 Financial Lives survey
The FCA has published findings from its 2024 Financial Lives survey. Key findings from the latest report include: 1 in 10 people have no cash savings at all, and another 21% have less than £1,000 to draw on in an...
UK Finance updates financial abuse code
UK Finance has published the third version of its Financial Abuse Code, which is designed to increase understanding amongst firms of how to identify signs of economic abuse suffered by their customers, and provides...
Court refuses judicial review application on time barred complaint
The High Court has refused an application for a judicial review of a FOS decision that it had no jurisdiction to address a complaint because the complaint was made out of time. The claimants had complained to their...
FCA identifies first set of unnecessary data reporting
The FCA is consulting on removing 3 streams of data that it currently collects from firms by way of regulatory returns. As promised, it says this will reduce the reporting burden for 16,000 firms. It proposes to remove:...
Employment Key Facts – at a glance
We’ve updated our key facts document to include all the latest statutory figures on tribunal awards and calculations, consultation periods, minimum wage, sickness and family payments and statutory notices.
Employment legislation update – April 2025
The past few weeks have seen a lot of action on the legislative front. Employment Rights Bill – the Bill was introduced in the House of Lords and had its first reading on 14 March. It passed its second reading on 27...
Employment cases update – April 2025
Metroline Travel Ltd v Taylor A bus driver was dismissed for gross misconduct after fighting with a driver from another company. He brought a claim for unfair dismissal. The employment tribunal (ET) upheld his claim...
FCA updates Regulatory Initiatives Grid
The updated Regulatory Initiatives Grid highlights many initiatives for various regulators relevant to the financial markets, including: during 2025: further action plan on FCA requirements in light of Consumer Duty...
FCA reviews bereavement and PoA registration practices
The FCA has published a multi-firm review of how retail banks and building societies treat customers in financial difficulties, building on its previous review of life insurers’ bereavement claim processes. It...
LSB to publish Ethnic Minority-led Business Code
The LSB has developed a Code aimed at improving access to financial services for ethnic minority-led businesses following research that shows a disproportionate amount of these businesses face difficulties getting...
PRA publishes Business Plan
The PRA’s 2025/6 Business Plan focuses on: significant work already completed on competitiveness and growth – such as the capital requirements to support SME and infrastructure lending, making the Solvency...
FCA publishes work programme 2025-6
The FCA has published its work programme for 2025-26, which builds on the 4 priority areas in its 5 year plan. Specific initiatives additional to those set out in the 5 year plan (which we summarised in this article)...
FCA publishes its proposal for annual fees and levies rates for 2025/2026
Today the FCA published consultation paper CP 25/7, setting out its proposals for the fees and levies to be imposed on the financial services industry to fund the FCA and FOS for the coming financial year.
Key points of interest are:
This year’s Annual Funding Requirement is �783.5m, an increase 2.5% from last year – this is to cover ongoing regulatory activities and exceptional projects;
The FOS budget for this year is �285.1m, up from �264.9m last year;
The FCA will start to recover costs for two exceptional projects, namely the ESG ratings providers work, and the motor finance complaints pieces;
The FEES manual is being amended to bring it in line with the MLRs and to allow FCA to recover costs arising from the appointment of skilled persons to firms supervised under the MLRs.
FCA speaks on investment culture and pensions savings
Nikhil Rathi has spoken on how to build a healthier investment culture in a world where consumers need more from their pensions but significant immediate investment is not possible. He focussed on the need for...
Insurance associations launch misconduct training programme
The MMA, IUA and LIIBA have joined together to launch a non-financial misconduct training programme, following an FCA request. The FCA’s 2024 report highlighting the issues in the wholesale speciality insurance...
FCA gives more detail on rule streamlining
Alongside its action plan, the FCA has published details of its “Consumer Duty rule review“. It has released a feedback statement following its call for input last year when it asked firms to tell it how...
FCA publishes 5 year strategy
The FCA has launched its much-trailed 5 year strategy. It will focus on 4 priorities: being a smarter regulator; supporting sustained economic growth; helping consumers to navigate their financial lives; and fighting...
FCA decides to fine and ban Crispin Odey
The FCA has published a decision notice of a fine of £1.8m and ban on Crispin Odey for his actions in, in its view, deliberately acting to frustrate Odey Asset Management’s disciplinary process into his conduct...
Chancellor unveils more red tape cutting
The Chancellor has unveiled more detail of the plans to cut the administrative cost of regulation on business, at a meeting attended by, among others, the PRA, FCA and ICO. The plans are wide ranging across all areas of...