ICOB 3.7 Confirmation of compliance
Confirmation of compliance
- (1)
Before a firmcommunicates or approves a non-investment financial promotion, it must confirm that the non-investment financial promotion complies with the rules in this chapter.
- (2)
A firm must arrange for the confirmation exercise in (1) to be carried out by an individual or individuals with appropriate expertise.
- (1)
In ICOB 3.7.1 R(2) 'appropriate expertise' will vary depending on the complexity of the financial promotion and the non-investment insurance contract to which it relates. The individuals engaged by a firm to confirm the compliance of its financial promotions with this chapter may have different levels of expertise and therefore a different level of authority for confirmation depending on the type of financial promotion and the non-investment insurance contract involved.
- (2)
A firm may arrange for a third party with appropriate expertise to carry out the confirmation exercise on the firm's behalf, but the responsibility for the non-investment financial promotion remains with the firm.
Withdrawing confirmation
If, at any time after it has completed a confirmation exercise in ICOB 3.7.1 R(1) a firm becomes aware that a non-investment financial promotion no longer complies with the rules in this chapter, it must ensure that the non-investment financial promotion is withdrawn as soon as reasonably practicable by:
- (1)
ceasing to communicate it;
- (2)
withdrawing its approval (if applicable); and
- (3)
notifying any person that the firm knows to be relying on its approval (if applicable) or confirmation (under ICOB 3.7.5 R).
- (1)
ICOB 3.7.3 R is of particular importance to a non-investment financial promotion, such as a product brochure, that a firm uses over a period of time. It has little application to a non-investment financial promotion which is of its nature ephemeral, for example, a mobile phone text message. Further, a non-investment financial promotion which clearly speaks as at a particular date will not cease to comply with the rules in this chapter merely because the passage of time has rendered it out-of-date.
- (2)
For compliance with ICOB 3.7.3 R the FSA will expect a firm to monitor its relevant non-investment financial promotions as part of the firm's routine compliance monitoring procedures. A firm may find it helpful to designate a relevant non-investment financial promotion with a 'review date', a date at which the non-investment financial promotion should be checked once more against the rules of this chapter. If it is found no longer to meet these requirements it should be withdrawn as soon as reasonably practicable.
- (3)
If at any time a firm becomes aware that a retail customer may have been misled by a non-investment financial promotion it should consider whether the retail customer who has responded to the non-investment financial promotion should be contacted with a view to explaining the position and offering any appropriate form of redress to those who have suffered financial loss.
Communicating a financial promotion where another firm has confirmed compliance
A firm will not contravene any of the rules in this chapter in the circumstances where it (firm "A") communicates a non-investment financial promotion which has been produced by another person provided that:
- (1)
A takes reasonable care to establish that another firm (firm "B") has already confirmed the compliance of the non-investment financial promotion in accordance with ICOB 3.7.1 R;
- (2)
A takes reasonable care to establish that A communicates the non-investment financial promotion only to recipients of the type for whom it was intended at the time B carried out the confirmation exercise; and
- (3)
so far as A is, or ought to be, aware:
- (a)
the non-investment financial promotion has not ceased to be clear, fair and not misleading since that time; and
- (b)
B has not withdrawn the non-investment financial promotion.
- (a)