Yesterday, the FCA published its “Regulation round-up” for September 2020 – touching upon the SM&CR on a couple of fronts. Conduct Rules breach reporting Firms are reminded that they must submit form REP008 via Gabriel in order to report disciplinary action taken against all non-Senior Manager members of staff for breach of the Conduct Rules.
On 13 August 2020, the FCA published a new webpage on “Conduct Rules reporting for solo-regulated firms”. The Conduct Rules require all firms to notify the FCA if disciplinary action is taken against any member of staff who is not a Senior Manager for breach of the Conduct Rules. Whilst “ancillary staff” are exempt, the
On 27 July 2020, the FCA published a press release confirming the launch of its updated Financial Services Register. The purpose of the register is to allow consumers to conduct a degree of due diligence on individuals and firms with which they may conduct financial services business. The key enhancements to the Financial Services Register
On 17 July 2020 the FCA published Consultation Paper CP20/10 – “Extending implementation deadlines for the Certification Regime and Conduct Rules”. Due to the impact of Coronavirus, the FCA had already announced that the deadline by which FCA solo-regulated firms were required to complete their first round of fit and proper testing of Certification Regime
In yet another response to the COVID-19 crisis, the FCA has extended an earlier modification of the “12-week” rule to cover Benchmark Administrators (BAs) and firms using Appointed Representative (ARs) arrangements. On 6 May 2020 the FCA published a modification by consent, tripling the period of the “12-week” rule. The rule allows a solo-regulated firm
It took a while but the FCA has finally addressed the elephant in the room… On 30 June 2020, due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the FCA published a press release confirming that the deadline for FCA solo-regulated firms to have undertaken the first round of fit and proper testing for certified employees has been
The FCA has updated its Coronavirus website. On the SM&CR front, the introduction of Directory of Certified Persons (which was due to be published on the Financial Services Register before the end of June 2020) has been pushed back to “H2 2020”. We’ll continue to provide updates as the situation develops. To make sure that
On 2 June 2020, the FCA published Policy Statement 20/5, “Extending the Senior Managers Regime to benchmark administrators: final rules”. Under the policy statement, from 7 December 2020, the FCA intends to extend the Senior Managers Regime and the Conduct Rules to UK-authorised benchmark administrators that do not undertake any other regulated activities (“In-scope Firms”).[1]
On 6 May 2020, the FCA published a SM&CR-related modification by consent on its website, the purpose of which is to alleviate the burden on firms which may be affected by temporary Senior Manager absences due to the Covid-19 pandemic, for example, due to sickness or if the recruitment of an individual to replace a
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 requires that all members of staff who are subject either to the Senior Managers Regime or the Certification Regime must be assessed as being fit and proper to perform their role. Having necessary qualifications is one of the key criteria used to assess fitness and propriety. Unfortunately, due
On 3 April 2020 the FCA published its expectations on the way in which firms subject to the SM&CR should respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The basic message from the FCA is that ‘you don’t need keep us up-to-date with all aspects of your response to Covid-19, but you need to keep your own house
FCA tells Senior Managers to decide. On 27 March 2020 the FCA published guidance on the way in which FCA-regulated firms should prioritise which members of staff should continue to travel to the office during the Coronavirus public health emergency. The FCA makes clear that each firm’s designated Senior Manager or equivalent person is responsible
Under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) the FCA will publish and maintain a directory (the “FCA Directory”) of certified persons. The purpose of this is to enable consumers and professionals to check the details of key individuals working in financial services. Under its original deadline, the FCA was due to publish the FCA
Under SM&CR, Senior Management Functions (SMF) staff are likely to be afforded key worker status during the COVID-19 crisis. 20 March 2020 the FCA and the PRA published guidance for financial services firms on the identification of key workers. The principal privilege afforded key workers to date, is access to schools for children, if applicable
On 19 November 2019, the FCA published a Q&A document regarding conduct risk during the transition away from LIBOR. As the FCA notes, the discontinuation of LIBOR will affect many firms, in terms of: developing and offering new products linked to risk-free rates; assessing and reducing their own and clients’ exposure to legacy LIBOR contracts by amending