An update on the TPR from the FCA

We are contacting you with an update on the UK’s temporary permissions regime (TPR) as you have previously notified us that your firm wishes to use the TPR.

The TPR will now commence after the transition period which is expected to end on 31 December 2020. It will allow your firm to continue to operate in the UK for a limited period after the end of the transition period within the scope of its passport into the UK, while you apply for full authorisation in the UK, if this is required.

Although no action is required now, you should read this newsletter. It includes information about:

• being regulated by us once your firm is in the TPR and which of our rules will apply to your firm while it is in the TPR
• applying for full authorisation in the UK (whether this is via a branch or a UK-incorporated subsidiary) and the associated application fees
• what do to if your firm has changed its plans and you want to withdraw your firm’s TPR notification before 31 December 2020
• the UK’s financial services contracts regime

During the remainder of the transition period, we may also take the opportunity to ask you for more information about your firm. We may contact you in the coming months to find out more about your business and your plans.  We appreciate your continued cooperation.

Being regulated by the FCA

Once your firm enters the TPR, it will be regulated by us for its UK business and it will, at all times, need to meet our Threshold Conditions, adhere to our Principles for Businesses and follow the relevant rules and guidance in our Handbook.

We have set out the main rules which will apply to firms in the TPR here.

In particular, and because this may require your firm to change its systems, we would draw your attention to the status disclosure wording that you will need to include in letters (or electronic equivalents) to indicate that your firm is in the TPR.  Full details of the wording can be found in GEN 4 Annex 1B Statutory status disclosure (TP firms) in here.  Please note that the wording you will need to use depends on whether your firm has a branch in the UK or not.

Firms in the TPR will also be required to pay annual fees and the levies that we collect on behalf of other bodies in the UK.  Further details are included in our Policy Statement PS19/5.

You can find out more about the purpose of, and our approach to supervising firms and individuals here.

Applying for authorisation

Once your firm is in TPR, we will allocate it a period (or landing slot) during which it can apply for full authorisation in the UK, if this is required.

We are currently reviewing our approach to the authorisation and supervision of international firms. We intend to consult later this year on how we assess applications from branches of international firms.

You should also take into account the UK’s Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) which covers people working in financial services and aims to reduce harm to consumers and strengthen market integrity by making individuals accountable for their conduct and competence.

When you submit your application for full authorisation, we will expect you to be ready, willing and organised.

In addition to the annual fees mentioned above, your firm will also need to pay a fee when you submit your application for authorisation. This ranges from £1,500 to £25,000 depending on the complexity of your application.  There is more information on authorisation application fees here.

You can find our Approach to Authorisation here and there is more information about applying for full authorisation in the UK here.

Withdrawing a TPR notification

If your firm has changed its plans and no longer wants to use the TPR, you can withdraw your notification at any time before the end of the transition period.  If you do this your firm will not enter the TPR but may instead enter the UK’s financial services contracts regime (FSCR) under which it can wind-down its UK business.  Please see below for more information on the FCSR.

To withdraw your notification, you must let us know by email before 31 December 2020.

If your firm cancels its passport to the UK (via your local regulator) before the end of the transition period or your firm’s home state authorisation is cancelled before the end of the transition period, your firm will not enter the TPR or the FSCR.

Financial services contracts regime (FSCR)

If your firm has changed its plans and no longer wants to use the TPR, your firm may enter the FSCR.

The FSCR will automatically apply to firms that are passporting into the UK at the end of the transition period (and have existing UK contracts to service which require a UK permission) but that do not enter the TPR and will allow these firms to wind-down their UK business in an orderly fashion.

Please note that the FSCR does not cover new business and therefore if you wish to undertake new business (which requires a UK permission) after the transition period, you should not withdraw your notification.

Contact us

If you have any queries, you can contact us via firm.queries@fca.org.uk or contact our Brexit Helpline 0800 048 4255 (from the UK) or +44 207 066 1000 (from outside the UK).

You can also stay up to date with the latest regulatory developments via our monthly Regulation Round-up newsletter.