In this section I will be bringing you a regular update on what the FSA are saying and thinking. July has been a busy month with record numbers of firms being fined or banned. In amongst all of this, the regulator has had time to publish a number of update reports including this one:
The Financial Services Authority has published its latest update on firms’ progress towards the December deadline for demonstrating that they are consistently treating their customers fairly.
The March interim deadline required firms to have management information (MI) in place to test whether they are treating their customers fairly. So the latest FSA assessments focused on whether firms had adequate MI rather than assessing whether customers are being treated fairly in practice. Of the sample firms assessed, a minority (13%) met the March deadline – but many have invested significant time and energy working to measure TCF, and the FSA believes that, with a substantial, continuing effort, approximately 80% of the sample are still capable of meeting the December deadline.
Sarah Wilson, FSA Director, Treating Customers Fairly, said:
“Having appropriate MI or other measures in place puts firms in a position where they can measure the quality of the outcomes they are delivering for consumers. These results show that adequate MI is not yet fully in place in the firms assessed – it does not mean that they are treating their customers unfairly. However, we now expect all firms to maintain their momentum and to undertake a significant amount of further work to meet the December deadline of demonstrating that they are consistently treating their customers fairly.”
The FSA have published further material illustrating good and poor practice at:
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/doing/small_firms/general/tcf/report/index.shtml
So, the Christmas countdown begins for more reasons than one this year.
The Where's Wally area will help you to keep track of the FSA as they move around the UK on their TCF visit schedule. All small firms will be contacted by the regulator over the next three years so keep up to date with their whereabouts - Where's Wally?
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