This thematic review from the FCA evaluates how firms have embedded the Consumer Duty into their operations and whether their governing bodies effectively oversee customer outcomes. The findings provide critical insights into good practices and areas requiring improvement, with particular attention to smaller firms. 

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), alongside the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Bank of England (BoE), has recently unveiled a series of proposed rules aimed at enhancing operational resilience in financial services.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its Consultation Paper CP24/20 focused on enhancing safeguarding practices for the Payment and E-Money firms. The FCA’s proposed safeguarding changes represent a significant upgrade to existing practices, and firms should begin preparing now to ensure they can meet the timeframes.

Operational resilience isn’t achieved in isolation. Today’s interconnected financial sector means that third-party vendors, and market infrastructures are integral to delivering IBS. Mapping these dependencies is crucial; firms need to understand exactly what resources—people, processes, technology, and vendors—are involved in each important business service.

“Firms should read this review, consider how their firm compares, and use it to address any shortfalls or gaps and raise standards. It is better for firms to resolve issues now than wait for us to identify and intervene on issues and remediate any harm later.” 

Third-party risks emerge from direct relationships between financial institutions and their vendors or service providers, fourth-party risks arise from the subcontractors of these third parties. Do your supplier relationships look a little like the image, and do you really understand who is dependent on who?