Winter is Coming – and so are the Conduct Rules
This winter sees the introduction of the conduct rules for solo-regulated firms, insurance firms and banking are already complying with SM&CR and thus the conduct rules.
Whilst the rules themselves are quite high level (this article is not covering the rules themselves, if you would like a reminder of the conduct rules please read our blog "SM&CR Conduct Rules Training Requirements") there are a few specific steps firms must take to comply with the new COCON requirements.
The first step is to identify any time disciplinary action is taken because of a breach of the conduct rules, for example, where action is taken due to a lack of skill, care or diligence. This is important because firms need to meet the new reporting requirements including informing the FCA within seven days should a senior manager be disciplined due to a breach and to notify the FCA alongside your regulatory reporting for all other staff.
Identifying when disciplinary action is due to breaches of the conduct rules are also important as you will need to include this in future regulatory references.
The conduct rules requirements don’t stop there, you also need to train staff on the conduct rules. For the majority of your staff this needs to be completed by Dec 2020 (Dec 2019 if you are an insurance firm) but your SM&CR staff must have been trained prior to commencement this year! The FCA don’t stipulate how you train your team but a recent analysis of the success of SM&CR in banking by the FCA resulted in the FCA saying that training should be tailored to the role of the individual.
We’ve produced e-learning which we is designed to be malleable enough to amend key sections to reflect individuals roles in your firms, whilst getting across the key messages of SM&CR as well as the conduct rules. This is achieved in a fun, engaging way without needlessly tying team members up in day long sessions, why don’t you take a look for yourself.
