Context
We have been asked by the FCA to remind our members that a new authorisations gateway is being introduced which will mean firms need to apply to the FCA if they wish to continue or start approving financial promotions for unauthorised persons. Currently, any authorised person can generally approve financial promotions for unauthorised persons.
The FCA’s consultation paper (CP22/27) was published in December, which includes proposals on how it intends to operationalise the gateway. This includes proposals on how the FCA plans to assess applications, and the regulatory reporting it intends to require from firms that apply.
The deadline to respond to the consultation is 7th February.
Key points to note
An authorised firm who wants to approve financial promotions for unauthorised firms will need to apply to the new gateway for permission to do so, by submitting a Variation of Permission (VOP) application through Connect.
Exemptions for authorised firms only approving financial promotions for the following purposes are proposed to be exempt from the need to apply to the gateway:
- Approving their own financial promotions for onward communication by an unauthorised firm
- Approving financial promotions for an unauthorised business in their corporate group
- Approving financial promotions for their ARs, where the promotion relates to a regulated activity for which the principal has the relevant permissions and has agreed to accept responsibility
Next actions
None – for information and awareness.