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What is happening?

On 18th January 2021, the FCA reminded firms of their obligation to regularly review their regulatory permissions to ensure they are up to date and are removed where they are not needed.

What do you need to do?

The FCA expects firms to notify it of material changes and to apply to make any necessary changes in a timely way. It does have the power to cancel a firm’s Part 4A permission if it has not carried on a regulated activity for at least twelve months.

Firms that have a Part 4A permission but have not carried on any regulated activities for twelve months or more and have no current plans to do so must apply for cancellation using Connect. Those that have a Part 4A permission and have not used and no longer need some of the permissions are being advised by the FCA to apply to remove the permissions that are not needed by completing and submitting a Variation of Permission application using Connect.

Firms are required to provide an annual attestation that the information held on the Financial Services Register is accurate. This means that they will not pay unnecessary fees for unused or out of date permissions.

New powers in the Financial Services Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament, mean that the FCA will be able to act more quickly where it considers that firms are no longer carrying out regulated activities. It will be able to serve notice on the firm, asking for a written response within 14 days, and If the firm does not respond it will be able to publish a second, public notice, explaining that it appears that the firm is not carrying on a regulated activity. The FCA will then be able to vary or cancel the firm’s permissions after one month.

How can we help you?

If you’d like to know more about how we can help you review and assess your FCA permissions and your Financial Services Register entry, or with any other aspect of FCA compliance, our expert team is here to help.

Contact us today on 0207 436 0630 or email info@thistleinitiatives.co.uk.