The FCA is consulting on extending the deadlines for the SMCR for solo-regulated firms until 31 March 2021. This delay will give firms, significantly affected by the Covid-19, time to make the changes they need.
The FCA has stated that a primary focus in 2020 is to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on the markets and protect consumers. However, firms should not think that means that the regulator will adopt a light approach to current investigations and regulatory enforcement.
Personal Account Dealing is an area of inherent risk for any firm in the financial sector. In many cases, employees have the potential to make personal profit from inside information or other information that they became aware of in their professional capacity.
The FCA have been highlighting that firms are failing to implement various recommendations in their PAD policies and controls to meet regulatory requirements and avoid market abuse. In order to prevent personal account dealing, firms should ensure preparation for the FCA’s requirements.
In this period of uncertainty and pressure on firms, regulators around the world have been quickly changing their strategies to support firms, so they all can manage the situation at best.
