I mentioned a while back that you will need to be looking out for the pending changes in regulation of Consumer Credit. Control of this passes to the FCA on 1st April 2014 and this will require you to take some action.
The OFT and the FCA have recently issued a joint letter, (15th July) presumably to all licence holders, to give them warning of the changes.
It would seem that the term 'late summer' has firmed up slightly to 'September' as the time at which you will need to register with the FCA. Presumably more details will follow from them soon along with the expected cost of doing so. In the meantime the joint letter advises you to check the OFT register to make sure that your details (name address, trading styles etc) are correctly recorded with the OFT at the present time and that you are correctly registered for the categories of activity that you need.
What are the correct activities? That would depend on what you actually do as a business . If you are unsure please feel free to contact me via the blog or directly to david.c.payne1@btinternet.com.
It is suggested that it will be easier to sort any updates before you have to apply to the FCA and I think that this is a reasonable assumption. If you don't have correct registration, you could be trading illegally, of course.
Friday 26 July 2013
Thursday 18 July 2013
Heads Up if you went to the risk awareness workshops
If you went to the Risk Awareness Workshops held a few months ago, I think that you can assume that you are in the frame for the online survey.
It all depends upon FCA resourcing I guess, although this appears to be all online, including the feedback which has the look and feel of a wholly automated response ( from the one example that I have seen so far). Don't misinterpret me on this though. Online or not this is serious contact with your regulator and if you don't deal with it properly, you will have a problem.
Currently I am aware of 4 of my own clients based in SE and London area who have been asked to carry out the Risk Awareness Online Survey. I am not aware of any clients involved in Scotland; the NE ; NW; SW ; Central or Eastern part of the country as of yet but that does not mean that this is not a phased roll out. In the SE and London clients have received emails on at least two different dates over the past 10 days.
Given the contents of the FCA page about the follow up to the Workshops set out at http://www.fca.org.uk/firms/being-regulated/meeting-your-obligations/risk-awareness/regulatory-review
I think you should assume that if you went to the workshop you are likely to be involved in the survey.
Look out for those emails...
It all depends upon FCA resourcing I guess, although this appears to be all online, including the feedback which has the look and feel of a wholly automated response ( from the one example that I have seen so far). Don't misinterpret me on this though. Online or not this is serious contact with your regulator and if you don't deal with it properly, you will have a problem.
Currently I am aware of 4 of my own clients based in SE and London area who have been asked to carry out the Risk Awareness Online Survey. I am not aware of any clients involved in Scotland; the NE ; NW; SW ; Central or Eastern part of the country as of yet but that does not mean that this is not a phased roll out. In the SE and London clients have received emails on at least two different dates over the past 10 days.
Given the contents of the FCA page about the follow up to the Workshops set out at http://www.fca.org.uk/firms/being-regulated/meeting-your-obligations/risk-awareness/regulatory-review
I think you should assume that if you went to the workshop you are likely to be involved in the survey.
Look out for those emails...
Wednesday 17 July 2013
FCA Online survey update
Just a quick note on the current online Survey on Risk Awareness. For a small firm you should allow about 3 hours uninterrupted to complete this in a considered and careful manner. You could possibly do it in the suggested of 2 hours but you need to make sure that you read the questions properly and that you understand the implications of the answers that you give. There may also be a need to understand some of the terminology.
Once you have answered the question and moved on YOU CANNOT GO BACK AND MAKE ADJUSTMENTS and this is one further reason why you need to allocate uninterrupted time.
There will be a follow up email within 48 hours of submitting the survey and you will have 5 days to respond to that . It is important to realise that the survey is not completed and your job is not done until you have responded to that final email.
In terms of the content, the thing does not just cover Risk Awareness as one might think about it. There is an initial section on risk and then there are sections on management ( ends at about 55% of the survey completed followed by controls and then prudential matters. it is a serious full analysis of your firm and is one you MUST take ABSOLUTELY seriously.
If you have seen the first email and treated it as a circular, get it back and respond to it. Check your spam in case you have received it and don't yet know about it. Failure to respond should not be considered an option and failure to receive it to your inbox is not an excuse.
If you need to contact me about the matter then please contact me on david.c.payne1@btinternet.com or by commenting on the blog. Don't forget however that I cannot complete the survey for you.
Once you have answered the question and moved on YOU CANNOT GO BACK AND MAKE ADJUSTMENTS and this is one further reason why you need to allocate uninterrupted time.
There will be a follow up email within 48 hours of submitting the survey and you will have 5 days to respond to that . It is important to realise that the survey is not completed and your job is not done until you have responded to that final email.
In terms of the content, the thing does not just cover Risk Awareness as one might think about it. There is an initial section on risk and then there are sections on management ( ends at about 55% of the survey completed followed by controls and then prudential matters. it is a serious full analysis of your firm and is one you MUST take ABSOLUTELY seriously.
If you have seen the first email and treated it as a circular, get it back and respond to it. Check your spam in case you have received it and don't yet know about it. Failure to respond should not be considered an option and failure to receive it to your inbox is not an excuse.
If you need to contact me about the matter then please contact me on david.c.payne1@btinternet.com or by commenting on the blog. Don't forget however that I cannot complete the survey for you.
Tuesday 16 July 2013
FCA Online Review on Risk Awareness
The FCA are currently issuing some firms with notices of a new online review. The first email will set out what is expected of you and will give you links to FAQs and so on. A second email will provide you with the access information that you will need to log . You will also be given a deadline by which you must complete the review.
It seems likely that the review is targeted at those firms who attended the Risk Awareness Workshops a few months ago. However, even if you didn't I recommend that you check your spam folders and emails. There is a very clear message in the FCA's notice to firms and it reads as follows:-
We will work in partnership with those firms that are trying to do the right thing and creating a secure environment for their customers. At the same time, we will identify and take action against those firms that do not engage with us (for example, by not completing the On-line Regulatory Review) and are not committed to dealing with the risks that can face their firm and their customers.
There is another very clear message in the email regarding who should complete the survey:-
The On-line Regulatory Review should be completed by the individual or individuals that have overall responsibility for managing risk within your firm. External consultants or other third parties should not undertake the Regulatory Review on your behalf.
The bold and underline are those of the FCA and not me. This makes it crystal clear that being upfront and honest with your regulator means that you should complete this survey as instructed and not rely on externals to do it for you. That is not to say that you cannot take advice from external consultants. If they had wanted that restriction then it would also have been made clear.
On first view, it looks as though the survey is designed to calculate a score based on your responses. This implies that it will be scored and then too high or too low scores will probably be scrutinised and a random sample of mid range respondents may also be selected. This could result in follow up contact to verify the integrity of the responses and, where applicable, to look at respondents where the results offer indication of regulatory risk. In other words , you could get a visit!
It goes without saying that if you make an answer in the survey, you must be able to substantiate it in your records. In other words if you carry out a review each year and document it, there should be evidence of the documented reviews from the date that you started to do it in your Compliance File or wherever you keep it.
As of now, if you have received the emails and have a deadline, then make sure you deliver to it. if you haven't had the second email look out for it a few days after the first one. Check your emails and spam folders etc to make sure that it is not mislaid. if you still don't get a second email, I personally would check with the Contact Centre to make sure that you are not required to complete it rather than assume. As they say of assume...
It seems likely that the review is targeted at those firms who attended the Risk Awareness Workshops a few months ago. However, even if you didn't I recommend that you check your spam folders and emails. There is a very clear message in the FCA's notice to firms and it reads as follows:-
We will work in partnership with those firms that are trying to do the right thing and creating a secure environment for their customers. At the same time, we will identify and take action against those firms that do not engage with us (for example, by not completing the On-line Regulatory Review) and are not committed to dealing with the risks that can face their firm and their customers.
There is another very clear message in the email regarding who should complete the survey:-
The On-line Regulatory Review should be completed by the individual or individuals that have overall responsibility for managing risk within your firm. External consultants or other third parties should not undertake the Regulatory Review on your behalf.
The bold and underline are those of the FCA and not me. This makes it crystal clear that being upfront and honest with your regulator means that you should complete this survey as instructed and not rely on externals to do it for you. That is not to say that you cannot take advice from external consultants. If they had wanted that restriction then it would also have been made clear.
On first view, it looks as though the survey is designed to calculate a score based on your responses. This implies that it will be scored and then too high or too low scores will probably be scrutinised and a random sample of mid range respondents may also be selected. This could result in follow up contact to verify the integrity of the responses and, where applicable, to look at respondents where the results offer indication of regulatory risk. In other words , you could get a visit!
It goes without saying that if you make an answer in the survey, you must be able to substantiate it in your records. In other words if you carry out a review each year and document it, there should be evidence of the documented reviews from the date that you started to do it in your Compliance File or wherever you keep it.
As of now, if you have received the emails and have a deadline, then make sure you deliver to it. if you haven't had the second email look out for it a few days after the first one. Check your emails and spam folders etc to make sure that it is not mislaid. if you still don't get a second email, I personally would check with the Contact Centre to make sure that you are not required to complete it rather than assume. As they say of assume...
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