FCA’s General Principles
Below are the FCA’s General Principles. Businesses applying for authorisation will need to provide evidence and demonstrate that they are embedded into the company’s culture. 1 Integrity A firm must conduct its business with integrity. 2 Skill, care and diligence A firm must conduct its business with due skill, care and diligence. 3 Management and control A firm must take reasonable care to organise and control […]
How to apply for FCA Authorisation
In order to offer credit to customers you need to be authorised by the FCA. If you currently hold an interim permission then you should have received a letter from the FCA outlining your date period for submitting your application. Applications need to be submitted using the FCA’s online system CONNECT. If you don’t apply […]
FCA regulation likely to lead to greater consumer confidence & more credit sales for the Renewables Sector
PRESS RELEASE When the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) closed its doors on 31st March, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) took over responsibility for consumer credit regulation and compliance. At the same time consumer credit licences also expired and installers have had to apply for interim permission to continue offering finance. The old licensing scheme […]
FCA find one in five consumer credit adverts are not compliant
Credit firms need to do more to ensure their adverts and promotions do not mislead potential customers, says the FCA. The organisation examined over 500 advertisements for a range of consumer credit products and found a number of examples where key information which should have been included in the advertisement was either missing or difficult […]
Do you hold interim permission from the FCA? If so, what happens next…
by Colin Macpherson | General Manager If your business currently holds interim permission to provide credit, then by now you should have received an email from the Financial Conduct Authority. The email, entitled ‘Applying for FCA authorisation or a variation of permission’, includes a start date for completing your application for full authorisation. You have […]
The latest consumer credit update from the FCA
As of the 1st April the number of firms with interim permission had reached 49,405. Interim permission allows firms to continue carrying out regulated consumer credit activities until they are fully authorised. FCA authorisation is the replacement for the OFT licensing system. The FCA is taking a phased approach to its new authorisation process. They will be reviewing thousands […]
Have you changed over to the new versions of Lenders’ documents?
With the FCA taking over responsibility for consumer credit on the 1st April, all Lenders’ loan application documents have been updated (this includes both Barclays and Hitachi). The new forms look very similar to the old ones, but they now include the legal statement ‘authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority’ and they have […]
CCS help Home Improvement & Renewables sectors navigate new FCA consumer credit regulations
PRESS RELEASE On the 1st April the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) took over responsibility for regulating consumer credit activities from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). The introduction of authorisation and more rigorous legislation presents both a challenge and opportunity for the home improvement industry. After quickly recognising the impact on businesses, Consumer Credit Solutions […]