Regulatory News:
29 July 2025

Published 29 July 2025

This week, the FCA confirmed that they are launching a market study in Premium Finance due to concerns over fair value. The Bank of England and The Money Charity also both published their monthly statistics.

Regulatory News:
22 July 2025

Published 22 July 2025

This week, there is an end of term feel to this week’s roundup and news and publications. We have seen a flurry a consultations and guidance released from the Treasury, FCA and Ombudsman ahead of the summer break.

Regulatory News:
15 July 2025

Published 15 July 2025

This week, we have seen a flurry of corporate publications from the FCA that will be of interest to members. These cover several areas, including AI and innovation, growth, and enforcement.

Regulatory News:
8 July 2025

Published 08 July 2025

This week, the FCA published its final guidance on the treatment of politically exposed persons. The regulator also clarified expectations on bullying, harassment and violence in financial firms. The FOS published its annual complaints data, which detailed a significant rise across most of the main product complaint areas.

Regulatory News:
1 July 2025

Published 01 July 2025

This week, the FCA published a speech by Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi. The speech focussed on the strengths of the sector and discussed the collective action required in order to stay ahead. The Bank of England also released its Money and Credit statistics for May 2025.

Regulatory News:
24 June 2025

Published 24 June 2025

This week, the FCA celebrated the winners of its inaugural economic research competition. The Money Charity also published its Money Statistics for June 2025.

Regulatory News:
17 June 2025

Published 17 June 2025

This week, the FCA released a statement saying they are fully committed to supporting economic growth in the UK and a thriving financial services sector. The regulator also published speeches on the digital sandbox and why the UK is the place to invest. The House of Lords has also published its Financial Services Regulation committee report.

Regulatory News:
10 June 2025

Published 10 June 2025

This week, the FCA announced a new collaboration with NVIDIA that will allow firms to experiment with AI. The regulator is also looking for feedback on proposed AI testing. In other news from the regulator, the FCA are leading an international crackdown on illegal finfluencers.

Regulatory News:
4 June 2025

Published 04 June 2025

This week, the FCA have published an updated version of their Enforcement Guide, in addition to announcing the new chair of the Financial Services Consumer Panel. In regards to industry statistics, both the Bank of England and The Money Charity have provided their latest figures.

Regulatory News:
28 May 2025

Published 28 May 2025

This week, the Interim Working Group published its final report, which included a summary of the recommendations defined via thousands of pages of research, analysis, consideration and consultation. Elsewhere, the FCA also confirmed plans to streamline their complaints data reporting requirements for firms.

How does the Product Sales Data request sit with the FCA’s new five-year strategy?

Published 28 May 2025

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has boldly committed to smarter regulation, promising to reduce burdens on firms and improve its use of data. However, with new product sales data reporting now on the table for thousands of consumer credit firms, some are asking whether the FCA’s actions match its words. We think there is still time for change. FCA’s Strategy: Promises of Proportionality In late March, the FCA launched its new five-year strategy until 2030. Much of the focus has been on the need to help deliver growth and contribute to the UK economy, but the regulator has also outlined four main themes for its future areas of work. It has committed to becoming a smarter regulator, supporting growth, protecting consumers, and tackling financial crime. Focusing on the first theme, the FCA has said that being a smarter regulator means being predictable, purposeful and proportionate. It aims to improve its internal processes and embrace technology to work more efficiently with regulated firms. This includes a commitment to continually review the information it requests from firms, particularly data. The FCA notes in its strategy that data reporting is a significant task, and it will only collect what it needs and uses, keeping such requests under constant review. The FCA has already identified three regular data returns it plans to withdraw, with more likely to follow. The New Data Burden on Consumer Credit Firms This intent appears to contrast sharply with the new Product Sales Data (PSD) reporting, with the FCA introducing new requirements for the 40,000 consumer credit firms it regulates. The proposed changes extend across the entire consumer credit market. Not only will this represent a step change in the volume and sensitivity of data the regulator holds about UK consumers, but it will also introduce an additional regulatory burden for the firms within scope. The new reporting framework includes three separate returns—covering sales, performance, and ‘back book’ (existing loan) data. It asks for information on affordability assessments, arrears, forbearance, and other key metrics. There are over 250 data fields set out in the draft return, which will be requested quarterly. While not every field applies to every lender, the scale is significant, raising the possibility of the FCA collecting tens of billions of data points over time. Costs, Complexity, and Market Impact The FCA has stated that the new return is designed to help it better understand the consumer credit market. However, many CCTA members have expressed serious concerns about the cost of implementing new systems and processes to comply with these data demands. Implementation costs have been estimated at £80,000 to £150,000 per firm, depending on size and complexity. On top of this, there will be ongoing costs related to staff training and operational overheads. Just as significantly, we will change how credit is applied for. The process will be much more complicated, and the information required will be much more detailed. Some smaller firms have indicated that it may no longer be viable for them to continue …

The wind of change: Harnessing data to support financially vulnerable consumers

Published 24 May 2025

Amid continued economic uncertainty and an unexpected inflation rise to 3.9% in January, many UK residents are turning to borrowing to help manage their money and make ends meet. In fact, our research found that one in five UK adults – approximately 11 million people – now consider themselves financially vulnerable and at risk of harm due to their personal circumstances, including poor health, life changes like new caring responsibilities, or difficulty handling financial or emotional stress.