The Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA) has been a crucial piece of legislation for the UK’s £200bn consumer credit market for nearly 50 years. However, the CCA has become outdated and not always flexible enough to accommodate new developments and technologies. In June 2022, the government announced its intention to reform the CCA and recasting it in FCA rules. Auxillias has considered the consultation response and this white paper is a summary of our thoughts on the key points.

The FCA has recently set out the final rules for the Appointed Representative. This follows an FCA consultation earlier in the year on changes to protect consumers and to address harms across all the sectors where principals and appointed representatives operate.

In December 2021 the FCA published a second Consultation Paper which sets out in further detail its proposals for a new Consumer Duty, aimed at providing a higher level of consumer protection in retail financial services. Our whitepaper explains more about why there will be a change, information on the cross-cutting rules and the four outcomes.

The FCA proposes stronger oversight of appointed representatives and has published a consultation (CP21/34) proposing changes to the Appointed Representatives (AR) regime. In parallel, HM Treasury (HMT) has published a Call for Evidence on possible legislative reforms to the AR regime. This presents wide-ranging changes that have the potential to seriously impact the way that AR arrangements operate, and the burdens placed on Principals in particular. Download our white paper to find out what is being proposed, where the new rules will and will not apply, what the expectations and responsibilities of Principals are and what firms will need to do to ensure they are fully in line with the new rules.

The FCA is introducing rules to improve the way general insurance markets function. This follows the FCA’s consultation (CP20/19) and the FCA’s final report of its Market Study (MS18/1.3), which it published in September 2020. Download our white paper for more information about who the new rules apply to and when they come into affect.

The FCA consulted on proposed changes to how firms approach their operational resilience. These proposals were developed in partnership with the Bank of England – in its capacity of supervising financial market infrastructures (FMIs) – and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) to improve the operational resilience of the UK financial sector.

The FCA is continuing to increase its focus on fair customer treatment and reaching good customer outcomes. In trying to achieve this, on 14 May 2021 it published a consultation paper setting out its standards of consumer protection in the retail markets for firms to adhere to. This also forms part of the FCA’s transformation programme.

Protecting vulnerable customers is a key focus for the FCA and is more important now in light of the impact of Covid-19. The FCA’s guidance is really useful to help ensure that firms treat vulnerable customers fairly and includes useful examples on how to the put the FCA’s guidance into practice. This white paper provides a useful summary.