Financial Promotions and Consumer Duty

Course overview:

What customers see and use to make an informed choice as to whether to do business with your firm is an increasing focus for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) especially considering recent mis-selling by regulated firms and the Consumer Duty focus.

It is important that staff know what is expected of them:

They understand your appetite for risk in relation to financial promotions and why this may differ to other regulated firms
They understand the difference between Financial Promotions and other marketing material 
They appreciate when and how the rules apply  
They understand the different requirements of the different media especially as social media is at the very front of the regulator supervisory queue

Learning outcomes:

To explore the financial promotion rules and exceptions
To be able to produce compliant financial promotions with good consumer outcomes rather than rely on secondary checks
To know where to reference the rules
To develop a methodology which ensures the application of the rules is considered for each communication
To know what record keeping is required

Take this training in-house:

This workshop is also available as an in-house programme, which means you can tailor it to exactly what you and your colleagues require. Pricing for in-house will depend on what is required. Enquire about this option by contacting our training team.

Area of expertise:

Commercial finance Prudential risk, reporting and tax

The legal framework, and the regulator’s objectives and powers.

What is a financial promotion and what other communications are in scope?
The main statutory requirements and exemptions and the Consumer Duty Lens
Powers of the regulator including the Financial Services and Markets Act requirements 
Where is financial promotions regulation going

Categorising financial promotions and other in-scope communications 

Categorising financial promotions and other communications i.e., image advertising and other marketing activities 
Relevance to business model, client types, distribution channels and communication channels 
Syndicate exercise to recognise financial promotion types and their relevance

Essential sourcebook requirements applied to categories of financial promotion and communication 

Matching firms’ marketing items to sourcebook categories of financial promotion and communication  
Applying the key regulatory requirements to the different categories
Syndicate exercise – judging fair, clear and not misleading using real examples

Latest developments in regulatory approach 

How different media and advertising channels differ, i.e., website, social media 
Exercise to spot fin proms in different media 
Examples of enforcement cases 
Fair, clear, and not misleading 
Prominence and stand-alone compliance 
Other hot topics and guidance from regulator

The key risks and how to manage them 

Internal controls the regulator expects to see i.e. record keeping
Developing controls using links between compliance and other functions, including marketing and product development 
Effective internal approval processes 
Record keeping

Summary and close 

Review of session objectives 
Review of key learning points

Stephen Fairclough

FSTP

With over 20 years training experience in financial services, Stephen is well placed to support you across a range of consultancy and developmental ac...

With over 20 years training experience in financial services, Stephen is well placed to support you across a range of consultancy and developmental activities. He is a former Head of Education for HSBC covering the UK and Europe, responsible for regulatory and financial crime related compliance learning, and has first-hand experience of meeting logistical deadlines complicated by volume, complexity and geography. His time at HSBC was during intense scrutiny from regulators and government functions during the bank’s Deferred Prosecution Agreement.

With other roles ranging from advising customers within a high-street retail branch, to Senior Vice President responsible for Global Risk & Compliance training at a US-based bank, Stephen’s range of experience is adaptable to your business. He also worked in the Insurance Firms division at the Financial Conduct Authority (in the FSA days) where he was the divisional expert for the rules and outcomes required under the Training & Competence handbook. Stephen won the Thomson Reuters award for “Most Effective Compliance Training at a Regulated Firm” in 2010.

The HSBC role, along with five years at Barclays in their Private Clients and Wealth functions, has seen Stephen work with retail, commercial, wholesale and private banking channels. While enjoying the design and delivery of training to an audience either live or virtually, Stephen can also work with your compliance, HR and operational teams to build or enhance your learning framework, ensuring appropriate systems, controls, checks and balances are in place to withstand any robust regulatory scrutiny, as well as delivering sustainable commercial benefits to your business.

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