Further to a recent “Sexism in the City” hearing, TSC has published a letter from Sarah Pritchard.  The regulator was asked to outline which criminal offences ought to result in automatic prohibition from operating in financial services, on the basis that such a conviction would be incompatible with being fit and proper to do so.

FRC has announced that it is undertaking a review of the Stewardship Code 2020 and is seeking views from all stakeholders on whether the Code, in its current format, is being used by asset managers, asset owners and other signatories to the Code in a manner that drives better stewardship outcomes from engagement with issuers across all asset classes.  A consultation will be published in the summer.

The EC has adopted two Commission Delegated Regulations supplementing DORA (i) specifying the criteria for the designation of ICT third-party service providers as critical for financial entities and (ii) determining the amount of the oversight fees to be charged by the Lead Overseer to critical ICT third-party service providers and the way in which those fees are to be paid.

This edition contains an interview with Claudia Buch on ECB’s supervisory priorities, along with articles on: the rise of outsourcing; ESG data quality; ICT and security risks, and collaboration with regard to non-EU banks.  All may be downloaded individually via the following link.

Text of Sheldon Mills’ speech of 20 February 2024 follows in which he discusses progress the regulator has seen on the Consumer Duty since July 2023 and identifies some challenges (including with regard to closed products).  He concludes: “At all times, when supervising and enforcing the Duty, we will be informed by data and metrics as to where we prioritise our focus. It is not a once and done exercise for firms, or for us.”.

ECB has published articles by Anneli Tuominen on DORA and on the CMDI framework.

FCA has reported on a survey conducted last autumn with firms in scope of the Consumer Duty who had not been surveyed in the previous survey conducted last spring.  FCA has published headline conclusions now to provide a snapshot of where surveyed firms are with their implementation of the Duty and to provide context for the regulator’s future work.  In addition, FCA has published a webpage which sets out good practices and areas for improvement.

FCA has announced that it is writing to around 20 financial adviser firms requesting information about their delivery of ongoing services for which their clients continue to be charged after advice has been given.  FCA is asking whether firms have assessed their ongoing services in response to the introduction of the Consumer Duty, and whether they have made any changes as a result, and is also asking for data concerning the number of clients due a review of the ongoing suitability of the advice.

TSC has published a transcript of the hearing held on 7 February 2024.  Topics include: the senior managers regime; securitisation; critical third parties; step-in risk; Solvency II reform; the resolution regime; car-financing.

The ESAs have published a report which identifies the types of financial services currently carried out by BigTechs in the EU pursuant to EU licences and highlights inherent opportunities, risks, regulatory and supervisory challenges.