FCA Archives | VinciWorks

FCA
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7 min read

The general election and compliance: What are Labour’s plans for the financial services sector?

Labour has criticised the Conservative party for taking the UK’s financial services for granted. Here’s how it plans to manage one of the country’s most successful sectors

The July 4 election’s projected landslide victory for the opposition Labour Party means that it’s likely that many things are going to change in the UK. Among that is the financial services sector, mainly because Labour has released details of its plans for that sector if it moves into #10 after the fourth.

As the Labour party notes, the financial services sector is one of Britain’s success stories. It contributed 12% of the UK’s economic output in 2023. It drives economic growth and job creation. The party states that championing the UK’s role as a global leader in financial services will support its mission in government to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7, with good jobs and productivity growth across the country.

Labour’s plan involves streamlining some of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) rules and getting rid of overlapping ones. It will create a “Regulatory Innovation Office” that could help regulators share data, and monitor the financial watchdog’s work.

It plans on more consumer protection and regulation in the payday loan and buy now, pay later consumer credit market. Private finance will be required to align investments with the goals of the Paris agreement on climate change, more backing for credit unions, and a pledge to maintain high international financial standards.

FCA Webinar
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1 min read

On-demand webinar: Getting to grips with proliferation financing one year on

Since 1 April 2023, all firms in the regulated sector have been required to carry out proliferation financing (PF) risk assessments.

This applies to all regulated entities, from law firms to financial services, casinos to cryptocurrency.

Regulated entities can create a new risk assessment on proliferation financing or incorporate PF risks into existing AML and terrorist financing risk assessments. However, regulators expect firms to take action to understand the risk of PF and how to mitigate it in their business. Failing to do so can result in a breach of the Money Laundering Regulations.

One year into this new requirement on the regulated sector, how effective have the new regulations been? What are the key strategies for compliance, and what are the best practice tips for ensuring PF obligations are met? In this webinar, we looked at the issue of proliferation financing in detail, discussed strategies for compliance, and shared best practices for understanding and mitigating PF risks.

This one-hour session covered:

– What proliferation financing is and the jurisdictions and industries at risk
– The differences and similarities between proliferation financing, money laundering and terrorist financing
– Practical examples of how proliferation financing can happen
– Proliferation red flags and high risk indicators
– Strategies and technologies to counter the risk of proliferation financing
– How to undertake a proliferation financing risk assessment

Watch on-demand now

FCA
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9 min read

Warning to financial services firms on anti-money laundering failures

FCA warns firms to do better on risk assessments and training

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned over 1,000 Annex 1 firms (lenders, money brokers and financial leasing companies), about serious money laundering failings at the most basic level.

The FCA has written to these firms, making it clear that firms should “complete a gap analysis against each of the common weaknesses we have outlined within six months.” The FCA’s letter also says that in future engagements with the FCA, they expect to be provided with the findings from the gap analysis, the gaps identified, and the progress towards effective policies, controls and procedures. Failing to do so could result in regulatory action.

The FCA’s review of financial crime controls revealed widespread weaknesses across various areas. Firms were found to be inconsistent in reporting their activities to the FCA, failing to adapt their controls to accommodate business growth, and lacking proper risk assessments. Additionally, the FCA identified shortcomings in due diligence procedures, ongoing monitoring, and the documentation of financial crime-related decisions. The review also highlighted a lack of resources and inadequate training provided to staff, alongside insufficient oversight from senior management.

Course & Product Updates FCA Thought Leadership
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1 min read

New course release: Market Abuse Regulation

The Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) is aimed at prohibiting insider dealing and unlawful disclosure of inside information, and market manipulation. Train your employees to protect them and your organisation from costly mistakes which could result in fines or even imprisonment. This eLearning course on MAR is set in an immersive format enabling learners to explore real-life case studies and evaluate the conduct presented to reduce the risks of breaching FCA regulations.

Events FCA
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1 min read

On-demand webinar: FCA Compliance – Are you doing enough to combat money laundering?

Did you know the UK ranks second highest among money laundering hot spots worldwide? It’s estimated £88 billion is laundered every year.

Financial institutions are responsible for catching the bad actors to prevent and stop money laundering. But unfortunately, it’s not always easy to identify who they are.

In this webinar, our experts, Nick Henderson, Naomi Grossman and Sandra Erez, explore money laundering, how it impacts financial services firms, and what firms can do to protect themselves.

The webinar covered:

The importance of having risk assessments in place
Best practices for client due diligence
Understanding money laundering legislation – staying compliant or facing the consequences
How to identify red flags in financial transactions
What we can learn from recent high-profile money laundering fines

Watch now

You can listen to this webinar as a podcast episode here.

Barclays probed by UK financial watchdog over AML failings

The AML crackdown continues, this time targeting one of Britain’s biggest banks

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched an investigation into Barclays for suspected ongoing failings in compliance and anti-money laundering (AML) systems.

The Financial Times reported that the FCA issued a notice last spring requiring an independent review of the bank’s financial crime detection and prevention systems. The review was triggered by concerns over the amount of know-your-customer (KYC) and AML cases at Barclays.

FCA
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2 min read

New Course: Fraud & Market Abuse — A Practical Overview

For firms involved in the financial markets, it is fairly easy to get caught up in illegal market abuse practices without even realising it. The temptation is great for staff members to trade on insider information or exploit the firm’s resources to try to manipulate the market. In many cases, the lines between what is acceptable and not are grey and unclear.

The European Union launched Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) legislation in 2016 in order to reduce market abuse and protect investors. MAR requires all EU Member States to criminalise insider trading, market manipulation, and the unlawful disclosure of inside information. The United Kingdom adopted EU MAR into UK law when it left the EU in 2020, but since 2021 has developed its own set of amendments separately from the EU.

Although MAR is an EU regulation, it applies to a wide variety of financial instruments traded anywhere in the world.

Our new course on fraud & market abuse gives staff members the tools to identify different types of fraudulent market activities, know the regulations surrounding them, and prevent potential abuses on an organisational and personal level.

FCA Thought Leadership
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2 min read

New course: FCA Safeguarding — Keeping our Customers Safe

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires all non-bank payment service providers (PSPs) to perform safeguarding procedures. These procedures are designed to make sure that payments owed to customers are not at risk in the unlikely event that the firm could suddenly go into liquidation or be otherwise unable to make a payment.

The most common safeguarding method, known as the segregation method, requires PSPs to make an immediate and clear separation between the money belonging to the customer and the fees taken by the PSP. This requires a constant process of separating funds into distinct and dedicated bank accounts, as well as recording and reconciling every transaction.

Our new course explains how safeguarding is done and what non-technical staff members need to know about it.

FCA
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7 min read

FCA Consumer Duty – What you need to know

What the new consumer duty means for the regulated sector

The UK’s financial regulator, the FCA, have confirmed its plans to introduce a new Consumer Duty, with the requirements in force from 31 July 2023.

This new Consumer Duty will have a significant impact on the entire regulated sector.

The Consumer Duty forms part of the FCA’s transformation to become a more innovative, assertive and data-led regulator, and is a key part of the FCA’s new three-year strategy to improve outcomes for consumers and in markets throughout the UK. The FCA has confirmed it is embedding the Consumer Duty into its approach for authorisation, supervision and enforcement.

FCA
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1 min read

New course – SMCR: The Senior Managers and Certification Regime

The UK is introducing Sarbanes-Oxley. Are you ready?

Since 2019, all FCA-regulated firms are required to comply with the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (known as SMCR, or SM&CR) a program designed to raise standards of conduct for everyone working in financial services. Formulated after the financial crisis of 2008, SMCR provides a framework for firms to:

Encourage all staff to take personal responsibility for their actions
Ensure a clear understanding of the division of responsibilities among senior managers in a firm
Improve conduct at all levels

VinciWorks’ new course, SMCR: The Senior Managers and Certification Regime, will provide you with the training you need to comply with SMCR requirements. It includes an in-depth look at each of the five Conduct Rules for general staff and the four Conduct Rules for Senior Managers.

Topics covered

The history of SMCR
Exploring the three pillars
The Senior Managers Regime
The Certification Regime
The Conduct Rules in depth
Who does this apply to?
SMCR in the organisation
How to report a breach

Course features

Provides short but comprehensive training
Includes practical examples and real-life case studies from the business world
Incorporates short, interactive assessments
Fully customisable for specific cases related to your business

Try now