Context
Following a meeting on 24th February of the Financial Services Regulatory Initiatives Forum (FSRIF), the FCA has published the 8th Edition of the Regulatory Initiatives Grid. The Grid has also been published in a .pdf format, with an interactive dashboard and Excel Spreadsheet of the underlying data. The FCA and BoE/PRA co-chair the FSIRF, which is made up of representatives from the Bank of England (BoE), the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the FCA, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT), the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the PRA, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR – to be subsumed into the FCA), and The Pensions Regulator (TPR). Each of these bodies are represented in the Grid. The Forum’s terms of reference will help users to understand the role of the Forum and the nature of this publication.
The FSIRF postponed the previous publication of the Grid, due in May 2024, following the announcement of the General Election. Although there was an interim update in October 2024, this edition reflects the significant reprioritisation that has taken place since the new Government came to power.
Key points to note and next actions
- The Grid contains multi-Sector initiatives, and initiatives specific to seven sectors (including insurance).
- Seventeen of the multi-sector initiatives are new when compared to the last ‘full’ Grid publication in November 2023, but many of these will be familiar with work already underway. Ten of those involve the FCA, and include a review of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), modernising the redress framework and external redress guidance, the revised FCA proposals in relation to Investigation Publicity Policy and the Enforcement Guide, a review of FCA requirements following the introduction of the Consumer Duty, premium finance, reviewing non-Handbook communications, and a Consultation Paper on updating outdated rules and guidance.
- Of the insurance-specific initiatives, eight are new when compared to the last ‘full’ Grid publication in November 2023, with only one of those being within the remit of the FCA (the simplification of Rules in relation to the regulation of the commercial insurance market, with a Consultation Paper expected in the first half of 2025).