FCA sets clear plan for next 12 months

On April 5, 2023, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its new business plan 2023/2024 which sets out the key regulatory objectives and planned (regulatory) measures of the FCA in the current supervisory year (April 1, 2023 through March 31, 2024). The planned measures are in line with the FCA’s overall 3-year-strategy according to which the FCA will focus on reducing and preventing serious harm, setting and testing higher standards, and promoting competition and positive change (for a detailed description of these focus areas, please see EventID 15518).
#### The 2023/2024 business plan now contains the following key planned activities:
– the enhancement of detection capabilities of the FCA to identify problem firms, including those that do not deliver any services, but yet are registered with the FCA;
– a review of the current rules and regulations to set clear thresholds for the identification of such firms;
– the enforcement of registration cancellations as regards problem firms;
– the launch of a consultation on guidance as regards redress measures;
– a review of the access rules as regards the „Financial Ombudsman Service“;
– the collection of initial ideas on how to improve firms‘ complaint reporting;
– the introduction of new reporting requirements as regards the financial resilience of solo-regulated firms;
– the publication of initial findings and best practices as regards the new Investment Firm Prudential Regime;
– the performance of supervisory activities to ensure that firms have appropriately embedded the new Appointed Representatives (ARs) requirements;
– enhanced supervisory measures as regards the monitoring of firms‘ anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) practices, including a review of their systems and controls;
– the enhancement and expansion of the FCA’s intelligence-gathering capabilities to detect financial crime, including money laundering;
– the improvement of the FCA’s capabilities to detect market manipulations;
– the performance of supervisory activities to ensure that firms are adequately transposing their new consumer duty;
– in view of the current high inflation and increased financial troubles of UK consumers, an increased review of lending practices of banks and other lending institutions as well as debt advice issued to customers;
– the finalization and publication of the rules on Sustainability Disclosure Requirements and investment labels;
– the provision of a feedback statement as regards the FCA’s discussion paper on ESG governance (rules);
– enhance supervisory practices as regards cyber-resilience and incident reporting of ALL firms; and
– the close monitoring of issuers‘ ESG disclosures.
As these are only the key activities planned in the current business year, please see the business plan itself for more detailed, comprehensive information.