Legal issues for the UK consumer finance industry
On 26 July 2019, the UK Financial Conduct Authority published a policy statement, PS19/20, setting out its final rules and guidance on:
– the extension of the Senior Managers & Certification Regime to FCA solo-regulated firms and a new directory; and
– a new directory of individuals working in financial services.
For in-house lawyers, and importantly, a Head of Legal is excluded from the requirement to be approved as a Senior Manager.
The new SMCR rules come into force on 9 December 2019.
On 27 June 2019, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched its market study into the credit information market. It’s been launched because of the FCA’s concerns about the coverage and quality of credit information, the effectiveness of competition between credit reference agencies and the extent of consumer engagement.
The FCA’s aim is to get a better understanding of how the credit information market now works and how it may develop in the future by making it work more effectively for credit information user and consumers (where appropriate).
The market study will focus on:
The FCA’s market study is not unsurprising. Consumers are becoming much more aware of their credit report and rating (with a little help from comedian Marcus Brigstocke) and how this affects their ability to obtain credit. A simple search of the Financial Ombudsman Service’s decision for May 2019 reports 324 decisions for consumers complaining about their credit reports.
The FCA will report on its preliminary conclusions in Spring 2020 including, if appropriate, a discussion of potential remedies.
https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-launches-review-credit-information-market