Communicating with the FCA: Common pitfalls to avoid
17 Dec 2024 • Business Services • Financial Services • ICARA and wind-down processes • Preparation of Disclosures • Prudential Reporting and Advisory • Regulatory Reporting • Thresholds, indicators and OFAR monitoring • Transparency Reporting
Written by
Information accuracy is essential when communicating with the FCA, failure to ensure accuracy can lead to unwanted scrutiny from the regulator. In this insight, we outline the ways firms can reduce the risk of FCA intervention when submitting returns and notifications.
Most firms have two main channels of communication with the FCA – RegData for the submission of the periodic regulatory returns and CONNECT for notifications and permissions, as may be required from time to time.
On an annual basis, a MIFIDPRU Investment Firm will submit at least 35 regulatory returns to the FCA. Notifications and permissions are event-driven but the need to notify arises more often than not.
It is important that the information you report to the FCA reflects your understanding of the rules and demonstrates compliance. Failure to do so could lead to the FCA making unwanted inquiries into your firm, and could become a trigger point for a ‘supervisory review and evaluation process’, if inconsistencies are found.
‘MIFIDPRU 7.10 Supervisory review and evaluation process (SREP)’ within the FCA’s Handbook details the factors that could lead to the FCA deciding to conduct a SREP. One of the factors is:
"The information provided by a firm or other members of its group to the FCA under any notification and reporting obligations under MIFIDPRU or other obligations in the Handbook".
Through this insight, we aim to summarise key returns and notifications that provide the FCA with continuous information about your business above and beyond the numbers reported in the boxes. We also explain the common errors with these regular returns and how to avoid them.