Inside FCA Podcast: Interview with Ed Smith on the Consumer Duty April milestone [pdf]

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published the transcript of another podcast relating to the new consumer duty. Specifically, this time the transcript includes an interview with the FCA’s Head of Competition Policy, Mr. Ed Smith, discussing the key milestones of the consumer duty from a firm’s point of view and the expectations of the FCA as regards the activities firms shall take or should have taken by the time of reaching these milestones.
Specifically, Mr. Ed describes, among other things,
– the relevance of the April 30, 2023 date by which – at the latest – product manufacturers should have completed the review of their products to ensure that they meet the needs of the target market and provide fair value to customers;
– the steps product manufacturers need to take to ensure to meet the deadline;
– the communications that should be readily available by product manufacturers by this date;
– the actions product distributors should take, if a manufacturer is unwilling or unable to deliver the information (on time);
– the actions product distributors should take, if they disagree with a manufacturer’s assessment of the product (target market, fair value, etc.);
– the FCA’s expectations as regards the product review of asset managers and insurance undertakings that are already subject to similar requirements; and
– the level of information sharing that should take place between manufacturers and distributors, once the new duty is in force.