Context
The FCA issued the first phase of the Covid-19 Impact Survey in June 2020, covering around 13,000 firms across 15 Supervision portfolios (Tranche 1), and then rolled this out to a further 9,500 firms in 21 portfolios (Tranche 2) at the beginning of August 2020. Since then, the FCA has repeated this survey for both Tranches three more times to understand the change in firms’ financial positions with time. The survey has helped the FCA obtain an accurate view of the impact of Covid-19 and supported its work to mitigate risks of harm to consumers, the market and competition within it.
Key points to note
The FCA has confirmed on its website that it is now repeating this survey again, and it will again include 10 questions in total, designed to give the FCA information about the following important areas:
- Liquidity/ cash availability and needs
- Recent financial performance
- Scale of business activity
- Access to government schemes
The FCA is planning to send this survey to the relevant firms in Tranche 1 on one of the following dates:
Batch 1: to be sent on 2 August 2021 – response due by 23rd August 2021
Batch 2: to be sent on 3 August 2021 – response due by 24th August 2021
Batch 3: to be sent on 4 August 2021 – response due by 25th August 2021
Batch 4: to be sent on 6 August 2021 – response due by 27th August 2021
The FCA will send a warm-up / introduction e-mail to all the firms at least 1 day prior to them receiving the survey.
Next actions
Please note that completion of the survey is mandatory under section 165 of the Financial Services & Markets Act (FSMA) 2000. The FCA has stated that it may exercise its powers under FSMA for firms who do not respond. The survey has been designed so that it is quick and simple to complete. However, if due to exceptional circumstances a firm cannot access its financial information, they will need to ensure that they complete the questions where the relevant information is available.