What has happened?
In July 2021, the FCA published a Decision Notice in respect of Markos Markou, the Director and Chief Executive of a mortgage and insurance intermediary firm, Financial Solutions (Euro) Limited.
What do you need to do?
The FCA considers that Markos Markou is not a fit and proper person and has withdrawn his approval to perform his current senior management functions (SMF 1 and SMF 3), made an order prohibiting him from performing any functions in relation to any regulated activity and imposed a penalty of £25,000.
The FCA found that, between November 2015 and October 2017, he did not have appropriate oversight of FSE’s mortgage business. He also failed to take sufficient steps to prevent FSE from transacting mortgage business between July 2017 and October 2017, although he was aware that FSE did not have valid professional indemnity insurance at the time.
Following interventions performed by the FCA between 2011 and 2015, Mr Markou was fully aware of the serious risks that this conduct created. By ignoring the risks, the FCA believes that he acted recklessly and demonstrated a lack of integrity. His conduct placed FSE at risk of being used as a vehicle for financial crime and did not appropriately protect the interests of consumers.
Review of the Decision Notice shows that there are a number of interlinked aspects to this case that will have led the FCA to the conclusion that it drew. These are that;
- There was Inadequate oversight of the business by the SMF 1/3 (Markou)
- Mortgage advisers worked remotely and were not properly monitored
- The SMF 1/3 was not fit and proper
- The SMF 1/3 was unqualified and not trained
- The SMF 1/3 had multiple business interests, in the form of fourteen other companies, unrelated to the FCA regulated business
- There was one director and shareholder in the firm
- Financial crime problems were suspected by lenders and the FCA, including potential mortgage fraud
- The firm’s PI cover had been allowed to lapse
- The firm, after a brief period of compliance, ignored multiple FCA communications and the findings of three FCA visits and two desk reviews
- A Variation of Permission imposed by the FCA was not adhered to
- Written policies and procedures were inadequate
- There was no adequate Training & Competence regime or compliance training
How can we help you?
If you’d like to know more about how we can help you with your arrangements for compliance monitoring, senior manager functions, training and competence, financial crime or policies and procedures or with any other regulatory compliance issues, our expert team is here to help.
Contact us today on 0207 436 0630 or email info@thistleinitiatives.co.uk.
For PI cover, our subsidiary insurance intermediary Absolute Cover (a trading name of Resolution Compliance Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) specialises in sourcing high-quality liability insurance for FCA-regulated firms.
To learn more about how Absolute Cover can help you find the right insurance cover at the right price, email info@absolutecover.co.uk or visit absolutecover.co.uk.