The FCA’s proposed CONC 3 reforms could bring significant changes to the way lenders and brokers approach financial promotions, customer journeys and cost disclosures.

The FCA has finalised Phase 1 of its SM&CR reforms through PS26/6, introducing a wide range of changes aimed at making the regime more proportionate and operationally efficient while retaining individual accountability.

The FCA has published a new statement reminding firms that rising pressure on household finances as a result of increasing costs for fuel, food and utilities means that firms should consider whether their current approach to supporting customer is still relevant.

Following confirmation from the FCA that it had received four separate legal challenges to its Motor Finance Compensation Scheme, the FCA set out further guidance on Friday 8 May 2026. 

New FCA guidance warns principals not to treat inactive ARs as low-risk relationships and highlights growing scrutiny around oversight, reporting and consumer understanding.

We are delighted to let you know that our practical board-level guide to FCA expectations on redress is now available to purchase at the price of £195.

Today the FCA published a short but significant statement confirming it has received four separate legal challenges to its motor finance consumer redress scheme. The statement is characteristically measured in tone. The message, however, is unambiguous: the FCA intends to defend the scheme robustly and regards it as lawful, proportionate and the best available route to compensation for millions of consumers.

There is already a legal challenge against the recently announced motor finance redress scheme, demonstrating the level of scrutiny around both its design and delivery.

On the same day the FCA confirmed the final motor finance redress scheme, four regulators announced a joint taskforce targeting poor practice by CMCs and law firms.

The FCA, SRA, ICO and ASA are now working together to tackle misleading promotions, weak claims, multiple representation and unfair fees. This is a more co ordinated response than the market has seen before.

Following our initial paper on the FCA’s final motor finance redress scheme we’ve now produced a second briefing focused specifically on the obligations placed on brokers and dealers. 

While redress is paid by lenders, the rules place significant and immediate responsibilities on brokers. This includes complaint handling, responding to lender requests, providing historic data and supporting redress assessments within tight timelines.

The FCA has now confirmed that it will proceed with a motor finance redress scheme and has published PS26/3 together with a public statement outlining its objectives and expectations. The FCA says the scheme will return £7.5 billion to consumers, with millions of claims paid this year and the vast majority settled by the end of 2027.

This includes Auxillias’ first read and a more detailed paper on the FCA’s final motor finance redress rules - setting out what has changed and what firms should be thinking about now.

The FCA has published its 2026 Regulatory Priorities for consumer finance. It reads like a clear signal of where firms will be tested over the next 12 months. The focus is on three areas: access to credit, support for customers in financial difficulty and complaints and redress. Across all of this firms need to evidence outcomes.

Earlier today the FCA and the Financial Ombudsman Service jointly published CP26/9, Modernising the Redress System. The paper is both a consultation and a part-policy statement, finalising aspects of last July's CP25/22 while introducing new proposals on how complaints are triaged, investigated, and resolved.

The FCA has launched a call for input on how its regulatory framework can help SMEs access finance. The exercise spans debt, equity, hybrid and alternative finance, and seeks views from SMEs, providers and distributors on barriers to finance, opportunities for future regulatory support, sector-specific issues and future trends such as open finance.

The appointment comes as lenders, brokers and dealer groups seek practical support on large-scale complaint reviews, conduct risk projects and remediation planning. We have seen a significant increase in enquiries linked to commission complaints and redress readiness, particularly from firms needing senior legal and operational leadership.

We will shortly be publishing a new board-level paper titled ‘The Board Blueprint: A practical guide to dealing with motor finance redress governance’, which is written for UK motor and asset finance boards and senior executives preparing for the FCA’s redress scheme. If you’re interested in receiving a copy, please let us know.

The FCA has published a new review on consumer understanding under the Consumer Duty, setting out what good and poor practice looks like in real terms. While this is not new rulemaking, it is a clear signal of how the FCA expects firms to evidence that customers understand their products, communications and decisions.

This morning the FCA issued an update on its proposed industry-wide motor finance redress scheme.  Final decisions have not yet been made but several changes are under consideration following more than 1,000 consultation responses.

On 24 February 2025, the FCA published feedback on good and poor practice in Consumer Duty board reports, following its review of around 180 firms’ first annual reports. The review is intended to shape firms’ next reporting cycle and underlines the FCA’s expectation that boards can evidence meaningful oversight of outcomes, not just implementation activity.

The FCA’s long-trailed regulation of Buy Now Pay Later is now confirmed. With PS26/1, Deferred Payment Credit (DPC) will fall within the UK consumer credit regime from 15 July 2026. This is not simply an authorisation exercise. The new rules reach into product design, disclosures, creditworthiness checks, arrears handling, governance and board oversight.