governance,
accountability,
culture,
remuneration,
SIMR,
SM&CR,
certification,
competence
The Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SM&CR) for insurers took effect in December 2018. As part of the Solvency II regime, insurers were already subject to the Senior Insurance Managers Regime (SIMR) introduced in 2016. Despite that, there were some new...
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third parties,
assessments,
audit,
CASS,
data sharing
Whilst it is not the regulator’s objective to prevent firms from failing, where a firm does fail, the aim is to manage this in an orderly manner. Hence the basic capital resources requirement for all regulated firms. The regulator aims to avoid disorderly failure,...
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governance,
accountability,
pensions,
oversight,
trusts
Master Trusts Under the Spotlight The UK’s Pension Schemes Act 2017 and Occupational Pension Schemes (Master Trusts) Regulations 2018 introduced the concept of a master trust. Under the legislation, firms had to identify whether their pension scheme fell within the...
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oversight,
CASS,
CMAR,
client assets,
client money
The purpose of the Client Assets Sourcebook (CASS) is to ensure that client money and assets are always protected. Importantly, all money and assets held for a client can be returned promptly, particularly if the firm should fail. Following the failure of investment...
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governance,
third parties,
CASS,
client assets,
resolution pack,
outsourcing,
client money
In 2020 the FCA issued three Dear CEO letters. The letters were a reminder to firms of the obligations relating to client assets and client money. FCA reminded firms of the importance of maintaining adequate measures to protect client money and assets in the current...
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governance,
culture,
corporate governance,
monitoring,
controls,
communication,
audit trail,
data sharing
How well can your firm demonstrate effective systems and controls? Corporate Governance isn’t just about who sits on your board and how often the board meets. It’s about the systems and controls as well as the standards set within a firm. It’s about ensuring that the...
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accountability,
oversight,
SOX,
trust,
audit trail,
audit reform,
UK SOX
In 2002, the USA implemented the Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX). It caused quite a stir at the time due to the time and effort required to make changes to comply with it. Some felt that it was too onerous. Others felt it was an overreaction to some large corporate failures....
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governance,
accountability,
SM&CR,
MIC regime,
FAR,
BEAR,
SEAR
Since the financial crisis of 2008 regulators worldwide have been introducing reforms to improve individual accountability within firms. Regulators were criticised for their lack of action and not preventing the crisis. Further criticism was aimed at firms’ failings...
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third parties,
culture,
breach management,
risk management,
issues,
data sharing
A firm’s operational error log can provide a great deal of information about its compliance culture. Consider the following: Is it always the same individuals recording all the issues? Has the log remained untouched for several months? Are the identified issues...
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assessments,
monitoring,
audit trail,
data sharing
All regulated firms are obliged to conduct compliance monitoring. The compliance function is required to monitor and test compliance by performing sufficient and representative compliance testing. Then the results are reported up through the compliance reporting line...
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third parties,
accountability,
corporate governance,
oversight,
risk management,
operational resilience,
monitoring,
audit trail,
BCBS,
IOSCO
We’re all aware that operational resilience requires an holistic view of a firm’s operations. The Financial Services industry operates globally and requires a coordinated effort to establish a resilient framework. Current work to improve resilience focuses on being...
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Implementation of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime is currently underway and may well have an impact on your firm’s existing CASS arrangements. This is because the FCA, as part of the SM&CR rules, has introduced a new Prescribed Responsibility for firms...
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