Consultation on winding down 'synthetic' sterling LIBOR and US dollar LIBOR
We've published a consultation on winding down synthetic sterling LIBOR and US dollar LIBOR.
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whether the 1 and 6 month sterling LIBOR settings can cease in an orderly fashion at end-March 2023, in order to provide adequate notice of these settings ending
- when the 3-month sterling LIBOR setting can be ceased in an orderly fashion
- whether there are any insurmountable barriers to transitioning US dollar LIBOR exposures by end-June 2023
The consultation closes on 24 August 2022. We encourage responses from impacted stakeholders outside as well as inside of the UK.
Financial Resilience Survey (formerly “Covid-19 Impact Survey”)
We're asking some firms to complete a short survey to help us understand how the current financial climate is affecting FCA solo-regulated firms.
We've retitled this data collection as the FCA Financial Resilience Survey to more accurately reflect its purpose – to give us baseline financial resilience information for our firms. We've also simplified the format of the survey form to make it easier to complete so it may look a little different. The information we're asking firms to provide remains the same.
All firms in scope will have been contacted by 24 June 2022.
Preventing claims management phoenixing by financial services firms
We’re introducing new rules to ban Claims Management Companies (CMCs) from handling FSCS claims against failed financial services (FS) firms where there are known connections between the two.
7% of the CMCs we regulate to carry out FS claims have known connections to former firms, and we estimate that more than 200 claims each year involve phoenixing connections.
Proposed changes to COBS mortality basis
This would affect pension providers who prepare pension projections, including Key Features Illustrations. It would also affect advice firms who give defined benefit transfer advice and must provide a transfer value comparator. It may also be of interest to software providers who provide technology solutions to firms for preparing this information.
The consultation closes on 18 July 2022.
2022/23 periodic regulatory fees and levies
We've published our policy statement setting the periodic regulatory fee and levy rates for 2022/23, together with our feedback on the responses we received to the consultation on draft fees and levies rules.
This applies to all FCA fee-payers and to any businesses considering applying for FCA authorisation or registration.
Ensuring the fair treatment of customers in vulnerable circumstances
We've published an update on firms’ progress on embedding our Guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers (FG21/1).
This update sets out examples of good practice we have seen from firms taking positive action to understand and meet the needs of customers in vulnerable circumstances.
It also sets out the areas where we expect to see improvement and additional focus from firms to ensure they are properly embedding our Guidance and treating customers in vulnerable circumstances fairly.
Travel insurance signposting for consumers with Pre-existing medical conditions – Post implementation review
We're delaying the post-implementation review of our travel signposting rules by a year and intend to conduct the review between April and October 2023.
If we did the review this year, the impact of Covid-19 on the travel insurance market, both in terms of level of market activity and the challenges separating the impact of our remedy from the impact of Covid-19, would undermine our ability to draw firm conclusions.
OPBAS view on the SRA consultation on financial penalties
Ensuring the effectiveness of financial crime controls and reducing financial crime risk is a priority for the FCA. OPBAS views all Professional Body Supervisors (PBSs), as playing an essential role in reducing the risk of money laundering through the effective supervision of their members.
- ensure their members are liable to effective, proportionate and dissuasive disciplinary action
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establish a credible and robust fining framework
In November 2021, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) consulted on its approach to financial penalties.
In March 2022, OPBAS wrote to the SRA with its view on the consultation.
Data strategy update
We’ve published an update on our data strategy, setting out where we have made progress and where we have more to do as we continue to become a more proactive, data-led regulator.
The update includes how we are making better use of data to spot and stop harm faster, and improving the data we collect while collecting it more efficiently.
FCA announces funeral plan providers likely to be authorised
We’ve published a list of providers we intend to authorise when the pre-paid funeral plans industry comes under our regulation from 29 July 2022.
The list includes the largest funeral plan providers and covers approximately 87% of existing customer plans. We’re still assessing a small number of applications and will give further updates.
PRIIPs RTS amendment
We made minor consequential amendments to the Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products (PRIIPs) Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS).
The following has been amended:
- all cross-references to the deleted Annex 4 have been removed
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the RTS rules on the application of the anti-dilution benefit now align with the rules we consulted on and accurately reflect our policy position. Annex CI, 11 (C) now states: ‘the anti-dilution benefit shall only be taken into account to the extent that the benefit does not take the total transaction costs below zero.’
The cross-industry Climate Financial Risk Forum (which is co-chaired by the FCA and Prudential Regulation Authority – PRA) brings together senior financial sector representatives to share their experiences in managing climate-related risks and opportunities and helps build capabilities and capacity across the industry.
Their Scenario Analysis Working Group has just launched a climate scenario analysis tool to help banks, asset managers and insurers of all sizes, but especially smaller firms, to gain visibility on their own climate risks and opportunities. Individual firms can enter details specific to them, and access reports tailored to their institution, or a Sector Report which allows users to see the content for an individual sector.
for failings
We've recently issued fines to a number of firms for failings in financial crime controls and affordability checks.
Insurance broker JLT Specialty Limited (JLTSL) has been fined £7,881,700, for financial control failings, which in one instance allowed bribery of over $3m to take place.
TFS Loans Ltd has been fined £811,900 in relation to deficient affordability checks for guarantors in its consumer credit business.
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