Regulator pledges focus on EU withdrawal and promises to publish interim findings on wholesale broking and current work on the value of the distribution chain.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its Business Plan for 2018/19 which includes a promise to focus a high level of resource on the regulatory implications of leaving the European Union.
FCA chief executive, Andrew Bailey, commented: “The Business Plan is an important way in which we are transparent about our priorities for the year. We recognise that this year we need to dedicate a significant amount of resource to withdrawal from the EU.
“As a result, setting our priorities this year has involved a particularly rigorous level of scrutiny and challenge to focus on areas where we see the greatest potential for harm.”
The regulator has predicted a total EU withdrawal cost of £30m. Its total annual funding requirement (AFR) for 2018/19 was set at £543.9m, up 3.2% on the previous year which saw an AFR of £526.9m.
In terms of general insurance the regulator stated that its key activities would include publishing its interim findings on wholesale insurance brokers in Q3 2018. The body launched an enquiry last year aiming to assess how the wholesale market fosters innovation and competition.
In addition the GI priorities include:
- Concluding the first phase of its diagnostic work on value in the distribution chain
- Publishing its Feedback Statement from its Call for Input on Access to Travel Insurance, which looked at the challenges for firms and consumers in providing and accessing fairly-priced cover for people with pre-existing medical conditions
- Focusing on product design and oversight
- Keeping its rules on GAP insurance under review
- Implementing the Insurance Distribution Directive
Culture
More widely the regulator said it would also be looking at culture and governance within firms, tackling financial crime, data security, innovation, and, big data, technology and competition.
The regulator also pledged to tackle the treatment of existing customers to ensure that they do not get less attention or receive poorer outcomes than new customers.
The regulator also said it would publish the extension of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) to insurers this year will ensure that key staff are accountable for their conduct and decisions.
It promised to reveal its policy and final rules that set out how the SM&CR will be extended to all other FSMA firms in summer 2018.
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