Related provisions for LR 11.1.5A
561 - 580 of 1081 items.
(1) UK recognised bodies are encouraged to consider adopting appropriate internal procedures which will encourage their workers with concerns to blow the whistle internally about matters which are relevant to the functions of the FCA.22(2) In considering appropriate internal procedures, UK recognised bodiesmay find the guidance provided to firms in SYSC 18.2.2 G (2) and SYSC 18.2.2 G (3)1 helpful.1
3Financial penalties, suspensions, restrictions, conditions, limitations, disciplinary prohibitions,2 and public censures are important regulatory tools. However, they are not the only tools available to the FCA, and there will be many instances of non-compliance which the FCA considers it appropriate to address without the use of formal disciplinary sanctions. Still1, the effective and proportionate use of the FCA's powers to enforce the requirements of the Act, the rules, COCON1
3The FCA has the following powers to impose sanctions2.(1) It may publish a statement: (a) against an approved person or conduct rules staff1 under section 66 of the Act;
(b) against an issuer under section 87M of the Act;
(c) against a sponsor under section 88A of the Act;
(ca) against a primary information provider under section 89Q of the Act;
(d) where there has been a contravention
3Section 415B of the Act requires the FCA to consult with the PRA before it takes certain enforcement action in relation to a PRA-authorised person or someone who has a qualifying relationship (as defined in section 415B(4) of the Act) with a PRA-authorised person. Further detail on when the FCA is required to consult the PRA, and when it has agreed to notify the PRA of certain matters, is set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between the PRA and the FCA.
A firm that is a20management company or an operator of an electronic system in relation to lending20 must, taking into4account the nature, scale and complexity of its business, and the nature and range of financial services and activities8 undertaken in the course of that business, establish, implement and maintain adequate policies and procedures designed to detect any risk of failure by the firm to comply with its obligations under the regulatory system, as well as associated
(1) 15This guidance is relevant to an SMCR firm17 required to
appoint a compliance officer under SYSC 6.1.4R or article 22(3) of the MiFID Org Regulation as applicable16.(2) Taking account of the nature, scale and complexity of its activities,
the firm should have appropriate procedures to ensure that the
removal or any other disciplinary sanctioning of the compliance
officer does not undermine the independence of the compliance
function.(3) In the FCA's view, it will be appropriate,
Principle 2 requires a firm to conduct its business with due skill, care and diligence. The purpose of MCOB 1.6.3 R is to reinforce this. The FCA would expect firms to take appropriate steps to determine whether any mortgage it proposes to enter into is subject to FCA regulation and, if so, whether it is a regulated mortgage contract or a regulated credit agreement4.
If, notwithstanding the steps taken by a firm to comply with MCOB 1.6.3 R, it transpires that a mortgage which the firm has treated as unregulated or as a regulated credit agreement4 is in fact a regulated mortgage contract, the firm must as soon as practicable after the correct status of the mortgage has been established:(1) contact the customer and provide him with the following information in a durable medium:(a) a statement that the mortgage contract is a regulated mortgage
(1) MCOB 1.6.4 R(2) means, for example, that if a firm discovered immediately after completion that a loan was a regulated mortgage contract, the firm would be required to comply with MCOB 7.4 (Disclosure at the start of the contract).(2) Although MCOB 1.6.4 R recognises that firms may become aware that a mortgage is a regulated mortgage contract at a late stage, the FCA expects this to be an extremely rare occurrence. It could arise, for example, if a firm has acted on the understanding,
In the FCA's view, for a person to be carrying on the business of advising on investments or advising on a home finance transaction1 he will usually need to be doing so with a degree of regularity and for commercial purposes – that is to say, he will normally be expecting to gain some kind of a direct or indirect financial benefit. But, in the FCA's view it is not necessarily the case that advice provided free of charge will not amount to a business. Advice is often given 'free'
In other circumstances, advice issued remotely may still be given in the United Kingdom. For example, the FCA considers that advice is given in the United Kingdom if:(1) it is contained in a non-UK periodical that is posted in hard copy to persons in the United Kingdom;(2) it is contained in a non-UK periodical (or given in or by way of a service) which is made available electronically to such persons.
Many people may be involved in the production of a periodical publication, news service or broadcast. But if the regulated activity of advising on investments, advising on regulated credit agreements for the acquisition of land,9advising on a home finance transaction1 or advising on conversion or transfer of pension benefits9 is being carried on so that authorisation is required, the FCA's view is that the person carrying on the activity (and who will require authorisation) is
In negotiating its contract with a service provider, a firm should have regard to:(1) reporting or notification requirements it may wish to impose on the service provider;(2) whether sufficient access will be available to its internal auditors, external auditors or actuaries (see section 341 of the Act) and to the FCA2 (see SUP 2.3.5 R (Access to premises) and SUP 2.3.7 R (Suppliers under material outsourcing arrangements);(3) information ownership rights, confidentiality
(1) 1Parts of the guidance in SYSC 13.9 do not apply to a Solvency II firm. They are SYSC 13.9.3G3, SYSC 13.9.4G(1), (2), (4) and (5) and SYSC 13.9.5G(6).(2) A Solvency II firm is subject to the outsourcing requirements in PRA Rulebook: Solvency II firms: Conditions Governing Business 7. (3) The Solvency II Regulation (EU) 2015/35 of 10 October 2014 (article 274) also imposes specific requirements on firms which outsource, or propose to outsource, functions or insurance activities.
6The purpose of this chapter is to give guidance on the FCA’s4 use of the power in section 166 (Reports by skilled persons) and section 166A (Appointment of skilled person to collect and update information) of the Act. The purpose is also to make rules requiring a firm to give assistance to a skilled person and, where a firm is required to appoint a skilled person, to include certain provisions in its contract with a skilled person. These rules are designed to ensure that the
The IML levy is calculated as follows:(1) identify whether activity group CC1 or CC2 applies to the business of the firm for the relevant period (for this purpose, the activity groups are defined in accordance with Part 1 of FEES 4 Annex 1AR);(2) for each of those activity groups, calculate the amount payable in the way set out in FEES 13.2.4R;(3) add the amounts calculated under (2);(4) work out whether a minimum fee is payable under Part 2 of FEES 7 Annex 1R and if so how much;(5)
For the purposes of FEES 13.2.4R:(1) a firm in activity group CC2 may apply the relevant tariff bases and rates to its non-UK business, as well as to its UK business, if:(a) it has reasonable grounds for believing that the costs of identifying the firm’sUK business separately from its non-UK business in the way described in FEES 4 Annex 11BR are disproportionate to the difference in fees payable; and (b) it notifies the FCA in writing at the same time as it provides the information
Table of rules in FEES 4 that also apply to FEES 13 to the extent that in FEES 4 they apply to fees payable to the FCA.
FEES 4 rules incorporated into FEES 13 |
Description |
Method of payment |
|
Extension of time |
|
FEES 4.2.11R (first entry only) |
Due date and changes in permission for periodic fees |
Group of firms |
|
Firms applying to cancel or vary permission before start of period |
|
Information on which fees are calculated |
(1) A firm'sparent is a financial holding company if it is either a financial institution or a securities and futures
firm that is subject to the financial rules in Chapter 3 and that is a broad scope firm (but not a venture capital firm) and if its subsidiary
undertakings carry out mainly listed activities, activities of a credit
institution or activities undertaken by a Chapter 3 broad scope firm. For this purpose
A firm may, having first notified the FCA in writing, exclude from its group the following: (1) any entity the total assets of which are less than the smaller of the following two amounts: (a) 10 million euros; or (b) 1% of the total assets of the group's parent or the undertaking that holds the participation;
provided that the total assets of such entities do not collectively breach these limits. (2) any entity the inclusion of which within the group
(1) The FCA may require a firm to provide information about the position in the group of any undertaking excluded from the consolidation under rule 14.2.5. (2) An exclusion under rule 14.2.5(2) would normally be appropriate when an entity would be excluded from the scope of consolidation under the relevant UK generally accepted accounting principles.
The 'assumption of risk' by the provider is an important descriptive feature of all contracts of insurance. The 'assumption of risk' has the meaning in (1) and (3), derived from the case law in (2) and (4) below. The application of the 'assumption of risk' concept is illustrated in PERG 6.7.2 G (Example 2: disaster recovery business).(1) Case law establishes that the provider's obligation under a contract of insurance is an enforceable obligation to respond (usually, by providing
Contracts, under which the amount and timing of the payments made by the recipient make it reasonable to conclude that there is a genuine pre-payment for services to be rendered in response to a future contingency, are unlikely to be regarded as insurance. In general, the FCA expects that this requirement will be satisfied where there is a commercially reasonable and objectively justifiable relationship between the amount of the payment and the cost of providing the contract
Under most commercial contracts with a customer, a provider will assume more than one obligation. Some of these may be insurance obligations, others may not. The FCA will apply the principles in PERG 6.5.4 G, in the way described in (1) to (3) to determine whether the contract is a contract of insurance.(1) If a provider undertakes an identifiable and distinct obligation that is, in substance an insurance obligation as described in PERG 6.5.4 G, then, other things being equal,
(1) The purpose of REC 3.18 is to enable the FCA4 to monitor changes in the types of member admitted by UK recognised bodies and to ensure that the FCA4has notice of foreign jurisdictions in which the members of UK recognised bodies are based. UK recognised bodies may admit persons who are not authorised persons or persons who are not located in the United Kingdom, provided that the recognition requirements or (for RAPs) RAP recognition requirements87continue to be met.442(2)
Where a UK recognised body admits a member who is not an authorised person of a type of which, immediately before that time, that UK recognised body had not admitted to membership, it must immediately give the FCA4notice of that event, and:4(1) a description of the type of person whom it is admitting to membership; and72(2) (in relation to a UK RIE ) 2particulars of its reasons for considering that, in admitting that type of person to membership, it is able to continue to satisfy
Where a UK recognised body admits for the first time a member whose head or registered office is in a jurisdiction from which that UK recognised body has not previously admitted members, it must immediately give the FCA4notice of that event, and:4(1) the name of that jurisdiction; (2) the name of any regulatory authority in that jurisdiction which regulates that member in respect of activities relating to specified investments or (for a RAP) relating to emissions auction products8;
If the Part 4A permission of a firm contains a requirement obliging it to comply with this rule with respect to a third-country banking and investment group of which it is a member, it must comply, with respect to that third-country banking and investment group, with the rules in Part 2 of GENPRU 3 Annex 2, as adjusted by Part 3 of that annex.
(1) If it appears to the FCA that there is, or there may be, a breach of the listing rules or the disclosure requirements6 and transparency rules4 by an issuer with a premium listing4, the FCA may in writing require the issuer to appoint a sponsor to advise the issuer on the application of the listing rules, the disclosure requirements6 and the transparency rules4.4(2) If required to do so under (1), an issuer must, as soon as practicable, appoint a sponsor to advise it on the
(1) 7In SUP 6 the "relevant regulator" is the regulator to which a firm with a Part 4A permission has made or can make (in accordance with SUP 6) an application to vary or cancel its Part 4A permission or to have imposed on it a new requirement or to vary or cancel any existing requirement (see SUP 6.2.3A G to SUP 6.2.3E G).(2) Where the PRA can only determine an application with the consent of the FCA, the FCA may request further information as if it were the relevant regulator.(3)
7This chapter does not cover the FCA's use of its own-initiative variation power to vary or cancel a firm'sPart 4A permission or its own-initiative requirement power to impose, vary or cancel a requirement (see SUP 7 (Individual requirements) and EG 8 (Variation and cancellation of permission on the FCA's own initiative and intervention against incoming firms)).
Upon request, an issuer or other person must be able to communicate to the FCA, in relation to any disclosure of regulated information:(1) the name of the person who communicated the regulated information to the RIS;(2) the security validation details;(3) the time and date on which the regulated information was communicated to the RIS;(4) the medium in which the regulated information was communicated; and(5) details of any embargo placed by the issuer on the regulated information,
(1) 1A firm must, as soon as a customer expresses an interest in becoming a SRB agreement seller, ensure that the 2disclosures and warnings set out in (1A) are 2made to the customer2, both orally and confirmed in writing, and he is given an adequate opportunity to consider them. The firm must not demand or accept any fees, charges or other sums from the customer, or undertake any action that commits the customer in any way to entering into a specific agreement, until:2222(a) 2the
(1) A SRB intermediary2must ensure that, on first making contact with a prospective SRB agreement seller, whether or not he is the firm'scustomer, who is proposing to enter into a regulated sale and rent back agreement with an unauthorised SRB agreement provider, it provides him with the written warning in (2) before he enters into any such agreement.2(2) The warning in (1) is that:(a) the agreement provider is not authorised or regulated by the FCA, and that key protections under
A person may enter into a regulated sale and rent back agreement as agreement provider without being regulated by the FCA (or an exempt person) if the person does not do so by way of business. However, a SRB intermediary should at all times be conscious of its obligations under Principle 6 (Customers' interests). Should the firm have any reason to believe or entertain any suspicions that the SRB agreement seller may be proposing to enter into a regulated sale and rent back agreement
The FCA9 is concerned to ensure that every actuary appointed by a firm under PRA rules made under section 340 of the Act or for the purposes of PRA Rulebook: Solvency II firms: Conditions Governing Business, 6,9 has the necessary skill and experience to provide the firm with appropriate actuarial advice from a conduct perspective9. SUP 4.3.9 R to SUP 4.3.10 G set out the FCA’s9 rules and guidance aimed at achieving this.11
A firm must not appoint under PRA rules made under section 340 of the Act or for the purposes of9 rule 6.1 of the PRA9 Rulebook: Solvency II firms: Conditions Governing Business,9 an actuary who is disqualified by the FCA10 under section 345 of the Act (Disciplinary measures: FCA) or the PRA under section 345A of the Act (Disciplinary measures: PRA10) from acting as an actuary either for that firm or for a relevant class of firm. 1181010
If it appears to the FCA9 that an actuary1 has failed to comply with a duty imposed on him under the Act, it has9 the power to and10 may disqualify him under section 3459 of the Act. A list of actuaries who are disqualified may be found on the FCA10 website (http://www.fca.org.uk10).101011055110101010
The FCA will specify in the Financial Services Register the name of the persons to whom the responsibility for the firm'sinsurance distribution activity6 or MCD credit intermediation activity4 has been allocated8. In the case of a sole trader, the FCA will specify in the Financial Services Register the name of the sole trader as the 'contact person' in the firm.64
The restrictions mentioned in PERG 9.10.3 G are subject to a number of exemptions. For example, the controls in sections 238 and 240 do not apply to financial promotions about certain kinds of collective investment scheme. These are:(1) open-ended investment companies formed in Great Britain and authorised by the FCA under the Open-ended Investment Companies Regulations 2001;(2) authorised unit trust schemes;6(2A) authorised contractual schemes; and6(3) collective investment schemes
The FCA has also made rules under section 238(5) which allow authorised persons to communicate or approve a financial promotion for an open-ended investment company that is an unregulated collective investment scheme (that is, one that does not fall within PERG 9.10.4 G). The circumstances in which such a communication or approval is allowed are explained in COBS 4.12.4 R535
7(1) A person carrying on the regulated activity of establishing, operating or winding up a collective investment scheme that is constituted as an open-ended investment company will need permission for those activities. In line with section 237(2) of the Act (Other definitions), the operator of a collective investment scheme that is an open-ended investment company is the company itself and therefore the starting point for an open-ended investment company that is incorporated