Updated material for new Treating Customers Fairly web pages
Briefing Note BN003/2005
24 March 2005
The Financial Services Authority has opened a new dedicated Treating Customers Fairly section on its Website. This includes an update on the work the FSA has undertaken with firms since last July when the FSA Paper Treating Customers Fairly – Progress and Next Steps was published. This paper explained the programme that aims to ensure that firms meet the requirements of FSA Principle 6 to “pay due regard to the interests of its customers and treat them fairly.”
The update includes the results of supervisory work undertaken with more than 80 firms since July reviewing the systems and controls they have in place to ensure they treat their customers fairly. The results in four initial key areas -– product design, management information, remuneration and strategic change - are covered here together with a general review of TCF work with a group of medium and smaller firms and a look at how larger firms are implementing TCF change in their own business. The results of all these workstreamswork streams are presented in the form of good and poor practice that FSA supervisors have seen.
Also published is a draft case study examining treating customers fairly in the context of firms designing, producing and marketing a new product.
Oliver Page, FSA Director Major Retail Groups, said:
“We are encouraged so far by the signs we see of TCF progress at firms, but the today's update shows there is still a long way to go before we reach the goal where senior management of all firms ensure delivery of the TCF principle at their firm. We expect firms to consider what TCF requires for their businesses. This material – which has been developed with input from trade bodies and others – will help them in doing so.
“There is no single way for firms to comply with the TCF principle, given the range of different activities carried on by the firms with retail business we currently regulate. Firms may decide to approach aspects of their TCF delivery in quite different ways in the light of their circumstances, strategy, client base etc. That is a choice for the management of the firm, provided the overall effect of the way that they do business is fair treatment of customers."
To help firms understand what is required of them, the FSA gave a commitment to develop case studies and is publishing the draft case study at this stage to find out how it can make the case studies most helpful and to give firms a chance to comment before it delivers the next set of these in the summer.
The FSA will publish a further update on TCF in June this year. At that stage it will set out the further case studies and will highlight some of the key practical issues in treating customers fairly. The update will also set out future planned work and timescales and give further feedback on the outcome of supervisory work.
In addition to today’s new material the TCF web pages contain the July 2004 paper, speeches on TCF by senior FSA personnel and other related material.
