PRIN 3.2 What?

PRIN (other than the Consumer Duty) applies with respect to the carrying on of:

1. (1)

    regulated activities;

2. (2)

    activities that constitute dealing in investments as principal, disregarding the exclusion in article 15 of the Regulated Activities Order (Absence of holding out etc);

3. (3)

    ancillary activities in relation to designated investment business, home finance activity, regulated funeral plan activity, credit-related regulated activity, insurance distribution activity, regulated pensions dashboard activity and accepting deposits; and

4. (4)

    activities directly arising from insurance risk transformation.

Other than with respect to a firm that is a credit union, PRIN also applies with respect to:

1. (1)

   the provision of payment services;

2. (2)

   issuing of electronic money (where not the activity of issuing electronic money specified in article 9B of the Regulated Activities Order); and

3. (3)

   activities connected to the provision of payment services and to the issuing of electronic money (whether or not the activity of issuing electronic money specified in article 9B of the Regulated Activities Order).

PRIN also applies with respect to the communication and approval of financial promotions which:

1. (1)

   if communicated by an unauthorised person without approval would contravene section 21(1) of the Act (Restrictions on financial promotion); and

2. (2)

   may be communicated by a firm without contravening section 238(1) of the Act (Restrictions on promotion of collective investment schemes).

Subject to PRIN 3.2.4R, Principles 3, 4 and (in so far as it relates to disclosing to the FCA) 11 (and this chapter) also:

1. (1)

   apply to firms with respect to the carrying on of unregulated activities (for Principle 3 this is only in a prudential context); and

2. (2)

   for firms and other persons that are subject to the Principles, take into account any activity of other members of a group of which the firm is a member.

In relation to an Annex II benchmark administrator which:

1. (1)

   administers only benchmarks which are subject to Annex II to the benchmarks regulation; and

2. (2)

   does not have permission to carry on any other regulated activities in relation to which Principle 11 applies,

Principle 11 (in so far as it relates to disclosing to the FCA) applies only to the regulated activity of administering a benchmark.

1. (1)

    The Consumer Duty applies to a firm’s retail market business, including in respect of existing products and closed products.

2. (2)

   1. (a)

       Subject to (b), the Consumer Duty applies to a firm with respect to the communication or approval of a financial promotion (see PRIN 3.2.2R), but only if the financial promotion is addressed to, or disseminated in such a way that it is likely to be received by, a retail customer.

   2. (b)

       The Consumer Duty does not apply to the communication or approval of a financial promotion to the extent that the financial promotion relates to an activity that is excluded from the definition of retail market business by virtue of limbs (1) to (6) of that definition.

3. (3)

    If the firm is a credit union, and except insofar as the Consumer Duty applies by virtue of (2), then the Consumer Duty does not apply to the following activities:

   1. (a)

       payment services and activities connected to the provision of payment services, except where the activity is an ancillary activity in relation to a regulated activity other than issuing electronic money; and

   2. (b)

       activities connected to or ancillary activities in relation to issuing electronic money, but only insofar as the activity is not an ancillary activity in relation to another regulated activity.

Where the Consumer Duty applies to the activities of a firm operating in a distribution chain, it applies only to the extent that the person is responsible in the course of carrying out those activities for determining or materially influencing retail customer outcomes.

Subject to PRIN 3.2.7R, the Consumer Duty does not apply to activities to the extent that those activities are not included in a rule which sets out the scope of protections offered to retail customers by COBS, ICOBS, MCOB, BCOBS, CMCOB, FPCOB, PROD or CONC.

Principles 6 and 7 do not apply to a firm’s activities to the extent that the Consumer Duty applies.