Displaying items by tag: FCA

The acquisition of Talbot and Muir by fellow SIPP provider Curtis Banks has satisfied its pre-conditions, including approval from the Financial Conduct Authority.

The number of pensions being fully withdrawn have risen 5.1% but the number of people taking regulated advice when entering drawdown has fallen by 10% in the first half of the year, according to the FCA’s Retirement Income Market data bulletin.

The FCA has advised firms to return to working from home where possible.

More than 32,000 pension savers have received £135m in compensation from providers who failed to inform them about enhanced annuity options, the FCA has revealed in its Annual Report and Accounts.

The Financial Conduct Authority is consulting on a rule change which may mean open ended property fund investors being required to give 180 days notice for a withdrawal of funds.

The FCA is to consult on tougher rules to protect millions of vulnerable consumers.

The FCA, PRA and Bank of England are consulting on an updated Complaints Scheme to make it simpler and more "user friendly."

The FCA plans to launch an enhanced Financial Services Register later this month to replace the existing register.

The changeover will happen on Monday 27 July with the previous register withdrawn on Friday 24 July.

Later in the year the regulator will add a directory of certified and assessed persons to reflect the introduction of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR)

The revamped Register will have a new look and include improvements in response to user feedback.

According to the FCA, the changes will make it easier to find and understand information on the Register.

Firms will be expected to update any links they have to pages on the current Financial Services Register, other than those to the homepage, once the enhanced Register launches.

All current links will be redirected to the enhanced Register’s homepage. The existing Financial Services Register will cease to be available from 6pm on Friday 24 July so that work can take place over the weekend to make the enhanced Register ready for the start of business on Monday 27 July, says the FCA.

The SM&CR regime involves the FCA publishing and maintaining a directory of “certified and assessed” persons on the Financial Services Register. This is to help consumers and professionals check details of key individuals working in financial services.

The directory persons information was planned for March this year but put back partly due to the Coronavirus outbreak and also because the FCA also experienced “operational challenges” when processing some bulk data file submissions from dual-regulated firms at peak periods.

Banks, building societies, credit unions and insurance companies can continue to update the information on their past and present certified employees for inclusion in the directory when it launches later this year.

The FCA recently announced it had proposed extending the previous deadline of 9 December 2020 for solo-regulated firms to submit information about Directory Persons to the Register to 31 March 2021.

The FCA will however allow still publish details of certified employees of solo firms starting from 9 December 2020 on the Register where firms can supply this information before March.

The FCA has pushed back publication of its Annual Report and Accounts - due this month - for at least two months due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The FCA has extended the deadline for firms to complete the first assessment of the “fitness and propriety” of their Certified Persons under the new Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) from 9 December until 31 March.