What has happened?
In December 2021, the FCA and the Practitioner Panel published a report from their 2021 joint survey of FCA regulated firms. The survey gives firms’ views of the FCA’s performance as a regulator.
What do you need to do?
Key themes from the feedback received by the FCA included:
- A positive view, particularly amongst larger FCA regulated firms, of its performance during the pandemic.
- The FCA has expressed concern about the number of smaller firms that suggested they are not engaging with the consultation processes. The FCA intends to ensure that all open consultations are included in the Regulation Roundup newsletter and it has trialled a new online response process intended to make it easier for firms to respond to consultations. The trial was successful and the new process will be rolled out soon.
- Firms are often unclear about why the FCA collects the data it requests from them. These findings will be fed into work undertaken to reduce the regulatory burden. The issue of data requests needs to be addressed, with a low proportion of firms always understanding why they are asked for data and a significant proportion of both fixed and flexible portfolio firms concerned that the FCA asks for information that is available elsewhere or that it is not reviewed in a timely manner.
- There were concerns expressed over the time it takes for authorisations to be completed. The FCA has recently announced changes to its decision-making process. The new senior manager decision-making process is intended to ensure that it can make faster and more effective decisions for consumers, markets, and firms. Read our blog post on this subject here.
How can we help you?
If you’d like to know more about how we can help you with your FCA regulation or authorisation arrangements, or with any other regulatory compliance issues, our expert team is here to help.
Contact us today on 0207 436 0630 or email info@thistleinitiatives.co.uk.