AMI chief executive Robert Sinclair (pictured) told Mortgage Solutions that small firms were his biggest worry at the moment, with the lack of action taken being particularly scary.
“Most of our time at the moment is being taken up on senior management regime,” he said.
“One of my main concerns is that I’m not sure how well engaged some small firms are with the SM&CR – that’s my biggest worry at the moment.
“The larger firms are all really well engaged and working through all their plans.
“The ones I worry about are the very small firms – one- and two-person bands, small traders, who may not even have noticed they’ve got to do anything. That really scares me.”
Concerning questions
Sinclair said he welcomed receiving questions from brokers on the subject but noticed that some of these suggested a real lack of understanding of the situation and their responsibilities.
“I’ve been out recently and asked some questions at a couple of places I’ve been presenting and a number of people have put up their hands who appear not to know much about it and that does cause me concern,” he added.
And he noted that some events were not covering the subject as well, despite its significant effect and imminent introduction.
The SM&CR replaces the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Approved Persons regime, changing how people working in financial services are regulated.
It intends to make individuals more accountable for the actions of themselves and their employees and will come into effect for all firms directly regulated by the FCA from 9 December.
