Out-Law News 1 min. read

FCA to consult on future of financial services register


The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will consult on the future of the public register of financial services firms and individuals later this year, it has confirmed.

The planned extension of individual accountability rules to almost all regulated firms under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) will have significant implications for the current register, as responsibility for assessing the fitness and propriety of all but the most senior individuals will shift from the regulators to individual firms.

The FCA said that it had received "substantial feedback" during its SMCR extension consultation on the public value of a register of certified employees and "other important individuals". These individuals, who include non-executive directors, financial advisers, traders and portfolio managers, will no longer appear on the financial services register if they are not senior managers requiring FCA approval.

In response to this feedback, the FCA will develop and consult on policy proposals by summer 2018, it said.

The FCA also intends to update the industry soon on plans to improve the usability of the register, in response to feedback from MPs on the Work and Pensions select committee.

The SMCR came into force for deposit-taking banks on 7 March 2016, and was designed to make individuals at regulated firms more accountable for their conduct and compliance. The senior managers' regime requires firms to assign responsibility for certain areas of the business to named senior individuals, while the certification regime requires firms to annually assess the fitness and propriety of staff in certain roles. The regime also incorporates additional conduct rules, applicable to almost all staff.

The regime will be extended to insurers on 10 December 2018. Brokers and other smaller solo-FCA regulated firms will become subject to the SMCR in mid-to-late 2019, with the exact date still to be announced by the UK Treasury.

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