General insurance, pure protection and life insurance firms, mortgage lenders and retail banks are among some of the businesses which received letters from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Mortgage intermediaries will receive theirs shortly, the regulator said.
The letters are to remind firms of how the Consumer Duty is expected to be implemented as well as the deadline. The note to mortgage lenders and administrators states that the Duty applies to all services and products offered to retail customers and the firms that provide them, not just those with a direct relationship with consumers.
It used the distribution relationship between mortgage lenders and intermediary firms as an example.
Events for support
The in-person events to be held by the regulator will be regional and targetted to specific firms. These will take place between February and June this year and are paid for. Details of the events for retail investment and mortgage firms can be found here.
Sheldon Mills, executive director of consumers and competition at the FCA, said: “We want to thank firms for the hard work they’re putting into embedding the Duty. We were encouraged to see many examples of good practice in our review of implementation plans and found that many firms are embracing the shift that the Consumer Duty brings.
“Putting good outcomes for customers at the heart of firms’ strategies and business objectives will build trust and modernise how we regulate financial services.”
He added: “Leaders have a key role to play here. We have a world-leading financial services industry which serves its customers, colleagues and shareholders well through competition, innovation and leveraging talent.
“We want to see boards and senior management further embed the interests of customers into their firms’ culture and purpose.”
