Compliance Monitor

The Financial Services Authority recently published Consultation Paper 160: Insurance selling and administration: the FSA’s high-level approach to regulation. This is the first of a series of CPs that will define the shape and extent of FSA regulation of general insurance distribution, which is to take effect from January 2005. Philip Ryley, Solicitor and John Virgo, Barrister consider some of the key points that arise out of CP160.

The E-Commerce Directive (2000/31/EC) aims to open up the cross-border financial services market and is currently being implemented across the European Economic Area (EEA). John Worthy (Partner) and Nicholas Graham (Senior Solicitor) of the IT/E-Commerce Group and Robert Finney (Partner) of the Financial Markets and Regulation Group at Denton Wilde Sapte explore the new UK rules and the opportunities they present for the financial services sector.

There are many reasons why employers may wish to monitor the activities of their employees. However, irrespective of the motive there is a need to ensure that any monitoring undertaken complies with the requirements of three relatively new statutes - the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Human Rights Act 1998 - as well as some secondary legislation. In the concluding part of her article, Anna Fletcher, an associate at Wragge & Co, considers the implications of the Data Protection Act 1998, the Data Protection Code of Practice and the Human Rights Act.

As a specialist in placing compliance personnel, IMS Recruitment often receives requests for guidance on salary issues. Teresa Nixon, Senior Recruitment Consultant, looks at some of the factors affecting levels of pay for compliance staff and gives current guideline salary brackets.

Firms must not employ “formulaic recommendations” when they advise on investment product sales was a central message of the final notice that the FSA issued to MLP Private Finance plc last month. The firm, formerly known as Marschollek..

Falling equity values have set alarm bells ringing in the life insurance industry and the FSA recognises that concerns over solvency may prove self-fulfilling if insurers offload more stocks, driving prices down still further, in a bid to shore up..

It may grind slow but it mills small…the FSA has fined Scottish Amicable £750,000 for mis-selling mortgage endowment policies and systems and controls weaknesses in its sales area across the year 2000. A PIA visit in January 2001..

The FSA coffers were swelled in February by a £750,000 fine on the Bank of Scotland (BoS) for its maladministration of PEPs and ISAs in the period November 1999 to August 2001.The regulator says that 30,000 customers unwittingly risked loss and..

Independent financial advisers are weak when it comes to documenting proof of customer identity, training and awareness and the proper use of national (government) and international (Financial Action Task Force) findings as required by ML 5.1.2R...

Life as an IFA is not easy in an era of collapsing equity markets and in 2002 it became considerably harder as the sector struggled to secure professional indemnity cover in the face of a global capacity shortage and more specific underwriter..

US fallout on UK analysts

The Financial Service Authority’s projected expenditure rise of 3.1% to £200 million for mainstream regulatory activity in 2003/4 (3.4% or £200.5 million when additional obligations relating to the Lloyd’s insurance market are..