Blogs

Stress-Tested for Reality: Beyond Paper Plans

In a recent blog, the UK’s FCA strikes a frank and open tone: operational resilience is not a box-ticking exercise. This is a message that has been sent before, and we hear it again in this blog issued on 15th April 2025. Operational resilience is business critical....

Complaints in a Changing World

FCA Establishes Regional Presence in the USA and APAC

UK regulator establishes footing in USA and APAC The FCA has announced the appointment of two regulatory representatives establishing its presence in the USA and APAC regions. Why is this necessary? How will help the UK? Establishing two regional offices aim to...

Trust & Security: How Payment Services Firms can Better Protect Client Funds

Time to read: 2-3 minutes Despite recent announcements that the Payment Services Regulator (PSR) will be disbanded, regulation is not going away. The FCA is taking on increased responsibilities and ensuring that there are consistent messages to firms on how to...

How good is your Product Governance Framework?

Scrutinise your Product Governance Framework “Product oversight and governance refers to the systems and controls firms have in place to design, approve, market and manage products throughout the products' lifecycle to ensure they meet legal and regulatory...

Consumer Duty: Data to demonstrate compliance

Consumer Duty: Data to demonstrate compliance It’s now just over a year since Consumer Duty came into force for open products and 31st July 2024 saw the regime extended further to closed products. FCA took this opportunity to share feedback, and highlight areas where...

UK & Ireland: Regulatory Priorities for 2024/25

Robust risk management and good governance are crucial elements for success! As we approach the second half of 2024 and look forward to 2025, where are the regulators focusing their attention? In Ireland, we see the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) focusing on: Fighting...

Signing off financial promotions with finesse

The UK’s financial promotions regime saw some significant changes in the past year, including the introduction of a regulatory gateway for approvers of third-party financial promotions. The emphasis on financial promotions isn’t new. In recent years, we’ve seen the...

Navigating the AI Frontier: A Regulatory Journey

“Depending on who you speak to, AI could either lead to the destruction of civilisation, or the cure for cancer or both. It could either displace today’s jobs or enable an explosion in future productivity. The truth probably embraces both scenarios. At the FCA we are...

Is SM&CR working?

The SM&CR review was announced as part of the Edinburgh reforms towards the end of 2022, with HM Treasury indicating that “ some stakeholders have raised concerns about their experiences of specific aspects of the regime .” Consequently, the government is assessing...

Complaints: Is your data telling you something?

Complaints: The Hidden Signals Your Data Might Be Showing Time to read: 2-3 minutes The FCA’s thematic review on complaints handling took place almost 10 years ago, but its findings continue to be relevant and are echoed in the FCA’s Consumer Duty work. The regulator...

Why Managing Conflicts should still be on your agenda!

Conflicts of interest is a subject matter that should be relatively easy to understand and as such, straightforward when it comes to compliance. Why then do we hear of senior managers who have failed to declare a potential conflict or to recuse themselves from related...