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19th April 2017

Mission & FCA Business Plan 2017/18 Published

The FCA has now published their Mission and Business Plan for 2017/18 that together provide clear vision and transparency about how the FCA operates and how it makes decisions.

FCA Business Plan 2017/18 & Mission Documents

These documents aim to provide financial services firms and consumers with greater clarity on the priorities the regulator has for the year ahead with regards to its interventions in the financial market.

FCA Business Plan 2017/18 - found here
FCA Mission Document - found here

The FCA’s Mission

The regulator’s Mission document has now been finalised following previous consultation.

This document explains how the regulator is to serve public interest through the objectives given to it by Parliament, and explains how this will affect the decisions that it takes. The Mission also explains the intervention framework for strategic decisions the regulator makes and the reasoning and tools chosen behind the work that they do.

It is expected that over the course of the next year, the regulator will publish additional documents that will help to explain how they carry out their main activities, such as authorising and supervising firms, and how the Mission affects these activities.

FCA Business Plan 2017/18

The FCA’s Business Plan is released annually and set out the details of specific areas the FCA will be focusing on over the course of the next year.

These priorities are based upon information and intelligence gathers though Sectoral views as well as the FCA’s intervention framework. It is noted that this year the Business Plan includes supporting the UK Government to prepare for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

Cross-sector Priorities:

Included within the Financial Conduct Authority’s Business Plan for the forthcoming year were the details of both Cross-Sector Priorities affecting all those involved in the Financial Markets, as well as sector specific priorities.

As with the last year and the year before, one of the FCA’s top priorities is tackling Financial Crime and improving Anti-Money Laundering measures.

In summary, the FCA’s Top Priorities for 2017/18, are detailed as follows.

1. Firm’s Culture & Governance

o Consult on the accountability regime for all FSMA firms;

o Continue to review their regulatory framework that governs remuneration.

2. Financial Crime and Anti-Money Laundering (AML)

o Prepare to take on responsibility for reviewing the quality of professional bodies’ AML supervision;

o Investigate how new technology can improve the efficiency of AML processes; and

o Roll out a further ScamSmart campaign warning of investment fraud.

3. Promoting Competition and Innovation

o Publish resources to help firms developing ‘robo-advice’ services;

o Engage with regional and Scottish FinTechhubs; and

o Investigate how near and real-time compliance monitoring can reduce regulatory burden.

4. Technological Changes and Resilience

o Establish cyber co-ordination groups across five sectors to share experiences and foster innovation;

o Undertake technology and cyber-capability assessment on all firms considered ‘high impact’; and

o Analyse resilience risks in major initiatives, including ring fencing and the Payment Services Directive II.

5. Treatment of Existing Customers

o Analyse the effect of wake-up packs on consumers’ decision at the point of retirement; and

o Look at how firms treat borrowers whose interest-only mortgages are approaching maturity.

6. Consumer Vulnerability and Access

o Publish their Consumer Approach to define their overarching approach to addressing UK consumer needs; and

o Continue their work in the consumer credit sector, including their continued focus on high-cost credit and overdrafts.

Sector Priorities: Wholesale Financial Markets

With regards to the Wholesale Financial Markets sector, one of the FCA’s main priorities is to ensure that the MiFID II regime is implemented effectively – which is due to come into force next year on 3rd January 2018.

In addition, the FCA will continue to implement remedies to improve competition in investment and corporate banking as well as introduce changes to improve the effectiveness of primary markets.

Sector Priorities: Investment Management

In addition, with regards to the Investment Management sector, the regulator’s priorities are to consult on the proposed remedies in the asset management market as well as review the FCA’s policy options in relation to fund liquidity.