i-law.com - Newsletter (Compliance Monitor)

Gender pay gap in compliance is “almost zero”

The pay gap between men and women in compliance is dramatically lower than the 22 per cent registered by the financial services sector as a whole, and is far nearer 0 per cent, according to some compliance recruitment firms. Danos Associates..

Online Published Date: 09 May 2018

Appeared in issue: Vol 30 No 08 - 09 May 2018

Authorisation ‘likely’ to be needed for firms offering cryptocurrency derivatives

Firms providing derivatives services in cryptocurrencies are “likely” to require authorisation from the FCA if the services amount to regulated activities, according to the regulator. In a statement of clarification, the Financial..

Online Published Date: 09 May 2018

Appeared in issue: Vol 30 No 08 - 09 May 2018

CBI calls for EU alignment and market access in Brexit financial services deal

A Brexit agreement for financial services based on regulatory alignment and mutual recognition for market access would be the best outcome for customers and institutions, according to the Confederation of British Industry. In a publication..

Online Published Date: 09 May 2018

Appeared in issue: Vol 30 No 08 - 09 May 2018

FCA uses RAC breach to warn insurers over transparency rules

General insurers that fail to implement transparency rules in renewal notices will be subject to regulatory action, insists the FCA. A year after new rules were introduced, the Financial Conduct Authority has found breaches by the RAC in its..

Online Published Date: 09 May 2018

Appeared in issue: Vol 30 No 08 - 09 May 2018

FCA unveils asset management rule changes

Asset managers are to be subject to a raft of new rules from the Financial Conduct Authority, aimed at forcing them to act in the best interests of investors and due to take effect at various stages over the next 18 months. The regulator has also..

Online Published Date: 09 May 2018

Appeared in issue: Vol 30 No 08 - 09 May 2018

Flavour of the year: messages from thematic reviews

Though its public profile is no longer dominated by headline-grabbing enforcement actions, the Financial Conduct Authority remains hard at work. Emma Radmore examines messages from recent thematic reviews (whether or not by that name) and what to..

Online Published Date: 09 May 2018

Appeared in issue: Vol 30 No 08 - 09 May 2018

PPI claims hit four-year peak

The Lloyds group and the Financial Insurance Company were the firms with the highest number of complaints in H2 2017, in a period when PPI claims reached a four-year peak. Lloyds (through the Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Bank plc) accounted for..

Online Published Date: 09 May 2018

Appeared in issue: Vol 30 No 08 - 09 May 2018

FINRA Rule 4210 – another eleventh-hour scramble

“Different product types, different regulators, same problem”: both regulators and financial services firms are guilty of leaving rule finalisation and implementation (respectively) to the last minute. Akber Datoo discusses how they..

Online Published Date: 09 May 2018

Appeared in issue: Vol 30 No 08 - 09 May 2018

Delving into the Duty of Responsibility

Many view the SMCR as an extension of the Approved Persons Regime, but it goes beyond APER in a number of ways, including the introduction of the new Duty of Responsibility for Senior Managers and a broader remit to all staff involved in the..

Online Published Date: 09 May 2018

Appeared in issue: Vol 30 No 08 - 09 May 2018

Regulators to get power to translate EU laws into post-Brexit UK legislation

The Financial Conduct Authority and three other regulators are to gain new powers to translate EU legislation into UK law on the day that the United Kingdom exits the European Union. A draft statutory instrument, running to 28 pages, has been..

Online Published Date: 09 May 2018

Appeared in issue: Vol 30 No 08 - 09 May 2018

FCA publishes its approach to supervision and enforcement

As promised in its Mission document of April 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority has set out in greater detail its approach to both supervision and enforcement. Michael McKee analyses the documents. On 21 March 2018, the FCA published two..

Online Published Date: 09 May 2018

Appeared in issue: Vol 30 No 08 - 09 May 2018

Barclays CEO Jes Staley to be fined, but not banned, for whistleblower hunt

Jes Staley faces potentially hefty fines from the regulators and “a very significant compensation adjustment” by his employer, after attempting to unmask an anonymous whistleblower at Barclays. The action is an early test of how the..

Online Published Date: 09 May 2018

Appeared in issue: Vol 30 No 08 - 09 May 2018

The FCA’s ‘100 flowers’ discussion paper

“Culture and governance is a priority,” stresses the Financial Conduct Authority. Yet pinning down how to repair and sustain positive beliefs and behaviours within firms is far from straightforward. The regulator’s latest treatise on the subject borrows a little from a brief liberal period of Chairman Mao, writes Julian Sampson.

Online Published Date: 09 May 2018

Appeared in issue: Vol 30 No 08 - 09 May 2018

Firms may need to preserve client data despite GDPR rules

With the General Data Protection Regulation about to take effect, firms are being advised that they may need to retain some client information in particular cases even if the client wants it deleted. The Regulation, the GDPR, takes effect on 25..

Online Published Date: 09 May 2018

Appeared in issue: Vol 30 No 08 - 09 May 2018

The FCA and PRA Business Plans analysed

“The FCA Business Plan feels like an attempt to fire as many guns simultaneously as possible, while the PRA’s is so obscure that nobody has much idea what that regulator will be doing in the coming year.” Adam Samuel scrutinises..

Online Published Date: 09 May 2018

Appeared in issue: Vol 30 No 08 - 09 May 2018

Financial adviser fined £34,000 and banned for false qualification claims

Alexander Stuart was penalised £34,000 and banned by the Financial Conduct Authority for lying and forging documents about his qualifications as a financial adviser. This was a failure of honesty and integrity that rendered him not fit and..

Online Published Date: 09 May 2018

Appeared in issue: Vol 30 No 08 - 09 May 2018

Ensuring all employees are captured under the Certification Regime

Though there is no final implementation date confirmed for the roll-out of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime to tens of thousands more financial services firms, they can begin to form a picture of how the regime will affect their..

Online Published Date: 09 May 2018

Appeared in issue: Vol 30 No 08 - 09 May 2018