On July 4, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a press release announcing its proposal to introduce a new public directory of the status and history of individuals working in financial services (including information on their prior employers, any enforcement actions, prohibitions, etc.).

The proposal aims to improve the user experience, with more information available than before on those who work in financial services and accessible from a single source by both consumers and firms. The proposed directory’s scope will increase to include certain individuals who are not currently required to be listed in the FCA’s financial services register. At present, firms can elect to certify individuals who are ranked lower than “senior manager,” but do not have to do so.

Following completion of its consultation process (details of which were covered in the July 28, 2017 edition of Corporate & Financial Weekly Digest), the FCA published a policy statement regarding the extension of the Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SM&CR) to FCA solo-regulated firms on July 4—the extension will now commence on December 9, 2019.

The FCA has also published a guide for solo-regulated firms setting out the main features of the SM&CR and details with respect to the transition to SM&CR. The FCA recommends that firms preparing for the SM&CR read the guide.

The FCA’s press release concerning the proposed directory is available here.

The FCA’s policy statement regarding the extension of SM&CR to solo-regulated firms is available here.

The FCA’s guide for solo-regulated firms is available here.