The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will be introducing a senior manager Directory to help customers check the status and background of individuals working in financial services. The Directory will include all those who hold Senior Manager positions requiring FCA approval. Consumer Credit firms will be joining the Senior Manager Regime SMCR in Dec 2019 and can expect to be added to this directory in due course. This follows Government criticism that the current Financial Services Register is not very user friendly and doesn’t give easy to access information about directors, particularly financial advisers.
The FCA has also published final rules on the extension of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) to regulated firms.
Jonathan Davidson, Executive Director of Supervision (Retail and Authorisations) at the FCA states
“These rules represent another step towards the transformation of culture across financial services. Our aim is to encourage cultures where behaviours are driven by what is the right thing to do – not just by what you need to do to be compliant.
To prepare, firms need to:
- make sure Senior Managers have clear responsibilities,
- check and confirm certified staff are fit and proper annually
- ensure financial services staff understand how the Five Conduct Rules apply to them
We’ve published a video overview and user-friendly guides to explain the rules and the principles of the Regime.
We have also published our proposals for introducing a Directory of financial services workers. We’ve listened to feedback that it’s important for firms and consumers to be able to check the status of financial services staff. We want to make it easier for people to be confident they can find the right people to deal with.
These publications help to encourage confidence in the industry. They set clear standards of behaviour and make it easier to verify information about individuals working in financial services.