A festive message: “Treat your customers fairly or you will be sorry!”

As we approach the festive season and embrace the message of goodwill to all men and women, it is an appropriate time to look at the FSA’s focus on how it expects regulated firms to treat their customers fairly. Philip Ryley, solicitor and John Virgo, barrister, briefly set out what the FSA has indicated is required on the part of regulated firms.

“Treating Customers Fairly” (TCF) may be seen by many as a very cuddly, if not a woolly, subject and one which needs more precise definition from the FSA. However, TCF represents a potential significant risk to authorised firms in 2005. Although the process of consultation is still ongoing, authorised firms will be expected to embed the TCF requirements into their culture, systems and controls and strategy and be ready for a TCF focus on “Arrow-style” visits from April 2005 onwards.