The plan explains how the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) will deliver its strategic priorities and continue to be an efficient and effective regulator.
On 15 November 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) jointly issued a Call for Input (CFI) on modernising the redress system.
In the economic outlook season, the key theme is policy uncertainty. Change will accelerate, some of it will be good and some of it will be a miss.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Autumn Budget contained a sizeable increase in employers' national insurance contributions (NICs). This article examines how this will impact the Financial Services sector's tax cost and compliance requirements.
In the government's first Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced several measures that will impact the UK's Financial Services sector, and we examine here the impact of the policies announced.
In the past few days, markets have been cheering at the prospect of deregulation, especially in the banking sector. The US election has become a catalyst for many government officials, across both sides of the Atlantic, to come out and advocate for deregulation. While upping economic and financial risk, it could be the key to unlocking economic growth in the years to come.
The global economy is entering a more synchronized part of the cycle, but economies diverge.
Climate-related disclosures are now mandatory for many insurers, with this comes the requirement to produce high-quality reports.
The business models of some UK insurers result in elevated exposure to liquidity risk. Despite this, management of liquidity risk does not receive as much attention or investment as capital and other risks.
In the third quarter of 2024, our experts commented on a number of announced regulatory developments. Our quarterly FS regulatory newsletter is a comprehensive overview of topics relevant to firms that operate in the UK across all Financial Services sectors.
Our aim with this article is not to detail all the areas which insurance firms will need to consider, or even the areas of greatest risk which will no doubt have already been considered and incorporated into plans and strategies, but rather to identify some areas or perspectives which internal audit functions may not yet have considered in their risk assessments.
When employees of overseas branches of UK insurance companies makes business trips to work in the UK, or otherwise host STBVs, in the first instance PAYE income tax should be applied to 100% of their earnings in real time.
The PRA’s recently published SS5/24 seeks to address concerns around the use of Funded Reinsurance (“Funded Re”) in the rapidly growing bulk purchase annuity (BPA) market, setting high expectations for the management of reinsurance counterparty risk. Firms are expected to perform gap assessments against the supervisory statement, set out remediation actions and provide other requested information...
Climate-related disclosures have moved from voluntary to mandatory and the bar for both minimum and best practice is rising.
The role of artificial intelligence (AI) in financial services continues to exercise C-suite minds. Not least, how to balance AI’s benefits to enhance the customer experience and improve back-office operations with the ethical challenges that AI presents.
As financial services organisations increasingly focus on digital transformation, having the right expertise and skillsets is critical. However, it’s not simply a question of human capital. It requires developing a talent strategy that recognises the profound impact technology will have across the organisation.
The financial services sector is increasingly looking to technology to help tackle the rising levels of regulation they face.
Financial services organisations see digital transformation as a top priority. While the competitive landscape has been evolving following the arrival of digital-first challenger banks and fintech players, emerging technology and rising mobile service demands from tech-savvy consumers are now pushing traditional players to innovate, rethink business models and how to accelerate and scale their technology...
Optimism in the financial services sector is riding high. So why is the financial services sector so confident and what needs to happen to ensure growth aspirations remain on track?
Both the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have highlighted Diversity and inclusion (D&I) as critical to their work on culture and governance. Benefits from D&I in the workplace include positive outcomes in risk management, good conduct, healthy working cultures and innovation.
The insurance industry, often perceived as a bastion of tradition, is undergoing a seismic shift. Diversity, Equality and Inclusion are no longer buzzwords. It doesn’t matter which business function you work in, it is a business imperative. So, what does tangible progress actually look like?
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) live streamed an event on Wednesday 31 July, focusing on the impact of the Consumer Duty in its first year.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its 2024/25 Business Plan on 19 March, setting out how it will deliver the final year of its three-year strategy. To fulfil the FCA’s objectives [1], the strategy seeks to reduce and prevent serious harm, set and test higher standards and promote competition and positive change.
The FCA recently published a multi-firm review of outcomes monitoring under the Consumer Duty. While the review was carried out across 20 firms in the insurance sector, the findings are relevant across all sectors.
In this article, we highlight regulatory developments in Q2 2024 for insurance covering Appointed Representative (AR) oversight, Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) sales, motor total loss claims, Consumer Duty updates, a post-implementation review of travel insurance signposting rules and Solvency II Matching Adjustment (MA) reforms.
On 5 April 2023, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published the 2023/24 Business Plan which sets out how the regulator will deliver the second year of its three-year strategy. We highlight the key areas of focus from the Business Plan below.
In this article, we highlight regulatory developments in Q4 2023 within insurance covering the Insurance Distribution Directive, Solvency II, third country branches, fair value, and appointed representatives (ARs).
UK regulators published a wealth of materials for insurers in the third quarter of 2023.
The UK hosts the fourth largest insurance market in the world, and the largest in Europe, with a total premium volume of just under $283 billion[1] recorded in 2017.
The agreement to pause sales of Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) insurance for 80% of the market was a big headline in February. It may have come as a shock to some but the FCA’s concerns with GAP insurance are nothing new, dating back to its 2014 Market Study. The FCA pointed to its 2022 value measures data and had given GAP firms a stark warning in September 2023 over fair value.
The FCA introduced the anti-greenwashing rule (AGR), which comes into effect on 31 May 2024, as part of its supervisory kit to create a common understanding of the sustainability characteristics of products and services.
In July 2023, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) made changes to its handbook [1] to embed guidance on good outcomes for customers experiencing financial difficulties. This sits in ICOBS 2.7 and, whilst claims handling is not specifically mentioned, it is relevant to how you support your customers at the point of claim.
In January 2023, HM Treasury published its consultation paper setting out proposals for the introduction of an Insurance Resolution Regime (IRR) for the UK insurance sector.
On 29 September 2022, the FCA acknowledged the continued challenges faced by consumers and businesses alike from the rising cost of living. The latest Dear CEO letter acknowledged the recent Government measures but noted the continuing financial challenges faced, including higher costs (such as energy costs) and staffing issues.
On Friday 8 April 2022, the FCA released its 2022/23 Business Plan in line with its usual timings. The scene is set with Covid-19 continuing to provide uncertainty, rising costs (due to inflation, interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty) and the risk of serious financial problems for many people.
On Wednesday 20 July 2022, the government released draft legislation for the Finance Bill for 2022 and the results of consultations. We were expecting more draft legislation but there are some HMRC recommendations that cannot currently be signed off by ministers until we have a more stable government.
This website uses cookies.
Some of these cookies are necessary, while others help us analyse our traffic, serve advertising and deliver customised experiences for you.
For more information on the cookies we use, please refer to our Privacy Policy.
This website cannot function properly without these cookies.
Analytical cookies help us enhance our website by collecting information on its usage.
We use marketing cookies to increase the relevancy of our advertising campaigns.