Since our last publication, the FCA has published a speech on cyber resilience and supplier risk, and the ASA has banned an Ease Your Mortgage advertisement held to be misleading.

UK

FCA speech on cyber resilience and supplier risk

The FCA has published a speech by Nausicaa Delfas, FCA Chief Operating Officer, on cyber resilience and supplier risk. Among other things, Ms Delfas sets out questions that boards of firms should ask when considering the issue of cyber security. These include the following:

• Has the board identified and understood the value of the firm's critical information and data assets?
• Does the board regularly receive updates showing the cyber threat to the business and critical data assets?
• Has the board agreed a risk appetite for the cyber risks and is it confident that this is reflected in day-to-day decision making?
• Does the board have the means to detect if a significant cyber breach has occurred and, should the need arise, to mobilise an effective and timely response?

FCA, 17 November 2017

ASA bans Ease Your Mortgage advertisement

The ASA has banned a radio advertisement put out by Samweb (UK) Ltd t/a Ease Your Mortgage from appearing again in its current form. The advertisement claimed: “Breaking News, Ease your mortgage announces that 8 out 10 mortgages have apparently been sold by your lender. We believe you may have a legal case if your lender failed to follow correct procedures. It will only cost £260 to obtain a full legal opinion confirming if your mortgage was sold or not. Planned court action or settlement in your favour could entitle you to write off your current mortgage balance by up to 70% net of fees". The complainant challenged whether the claim that a mortgage balance could be written off by up to 70% was misleading and could be substantiated.

The ASA considered that consumers would understand that the advertiser offered a service which made an individual claim against a mortgage lender similar to other claims management companies and that a claim would see their mortgage reduced by up to 70%. The ASA understood that in fact it was only theoretically possible that where a mortgage lender had failed to follow the correct procedure when securitising a mortgage, that could result in the balance being written off, and that this had not yet been proven in court. As a result of the overall impression created by the ad, it was decided that the ad breached BCAP Code rule 3.1 (Misleading advertising).

ASA, 15 November 2017

The Joint Money Laundering Steering Group proposes revisions to AML and CTF guidance

The Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG) has published for consultation proposed revisions to its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) guidance for the financial services sector. The revisions include the refinement of guidance to take into account comments by HM Treasury, and the correction and updating of legislative references. The revisions were published in three parts:

• Part I – guidance for all financial services firms
• Part II – industry-specific guidance for different sectors
• Part II – specialist guidance on a number of topics

JMLSG, 17 November 2017

FCA advises providers of account information services (AIS) and payment initiation services (PIS) to apply for authorisation under PSD2

The FCA has advised firms needing to be authorised or registered under the revised Directive on payment services in the internal market ((EU) 2015/2366) (PSD2) to apply to the FCA before 27 November 2017. Firms providing AIS or PIS will be regulated from 13 January 2018, when the majority of the provisions of PSD2 will be transposed in the UK. Without authorisation before this time, lack of registration or authorisation may mean firms have to stop carrying on regulated activities.

FCA, 16 November 2017

FCA guide to completing applications to cancel firm's authorisation

The FCA has published a guide to completing the application process to cancel a firm's authorisation under Part 4A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).

FCA, 17 November 2017

BoE commences direct delivery of CHAPS service

The Bank of England (BoE) has published a press release announcing that it has commenced the direct delivery of the CHAPS service. The announcement follows publication of a blueprint from the BoE in May 2017 for a renewed real-time gross settlement (RTGS) service, where the BoE stated that it was working on a transition. Prior to November 2017, the CHAPS service was operated by the CHAPS Clearing Company Ltd, a private entity. The BoE has also published a new CHAPS webpage. CHAPS is a sterling same-day system that is used to settle high-value wholesale payments as well as time-critical, lower-value payments like buying or paying a deposit on a property.

BoE, 13 November 2017

Law Society iterates view to exclude legal function from SM&CR

The Law Society has published its response to the FCA's consultation on the extension of the senior managers and certification regime (SM&CR) to all firms authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). The response focuses on the Law Society's view that the legal function should be excluded from the SM&CR.

Law Society, 15 November 2017

David Davis makes speech on financial services after Brexit

David Davis, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, has given a speech on the post-Brexit relationship between the UK and the EU in the financial services sector. He highlighted financial stability, consumer protection, the UK's position as a world leader in financial regulation, and a continuation of the existing cooperative system as objectives for the post-Brexit era.

Gov.uk, 14 November 2017

EU

European Parliament approves proposed Regulation on co-operation between national consumer protection authorities 

The European Parliament has adopted a legislative Resolution approving an amended European Commission proposal on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws. The proposal aims to improve cooperation by giving more powers to national authorities and enabling the Commission to coordinate common actions.

European Parliament, 14 November 2017

European Parliament adopts resolution on Action Plan on Retail Financial Services

The European Parliament has published a provisional version of the resolution it has adopted on the Action Plan on Retail Financial Services. The Parliament recognises that the EU market in retail financial services remains rather underdeveloped and highly fragmented and as a result action is needed to facilitate innovation that is beneficial to end-users, while releasing the full potential of the single market in retail financial services. The European Parliament believes that this would boost competitiveness, lower prices, and increase choice and diversity of products.

European Parliament, 14 November 2017

Delegated Regulation on RTS on co-operation and exchange of information for passporting under PSD2 published in OJ

Commission Delegated Regulation ((EU) 2017/2055) supplementing the revised Payment Services Directive ((EU) 2015/2366) with regard to regulatory technical standards (RTS) for the co-operation and exchange of information between competent authorities relating to the exercise of the right of establishment and the freedom to provide services of payment institutions has been published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJ).

OJ, 13 November 2017

EPC updates interbank implementation guidelines for SEPA instant credit transfer scheme and credit transfer scheme

The European Payments Council (EPC) has published updated versions of its interbank implementation guidelines for the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) instant credit transfer scheme (SCT Inst) and credit transfer scheme (SCT) and related webpages:

• SCT Inst interbank implementation guidelines 2017: version 1.2: set out the rules for implementing version 1.1 of the 2017 SCT Inst rulebook, based on the interbank credit transfer ISO 20022 XML message standards. A related webpage has also been issued.
• SCT interbank implementation guidelines 2017: version 1.1 (EPC115-06): set out the rules for implementing version 1.1 of the 2017 SCT rulebook, based on version 2009 of the interbank credit transfer ISO 20022 XML message standards. A related webpage has also been issued.

EPC, 14 November 2017

ECB speech on banks' Brexit preparation plans

ECB Executive Board Member and Supervisory Board Vice-Chair, Sabine Lautenschläger, has given a speech on banks' preparations for Brexit. In the speech she echoed concerns raised previously by the ECB, and highlighted settlement finality, continuity of contracts, and recovery plans as key challenges facing banks in the post-Brexit era.

ECB, 20 November 2017