The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has committed to developing guidance to support firms with using Consumer Duty reporting as a governance tool for continuous improvement rather than as a compliance exercise.

The FCA has today told financial services firms to focus on the outcomes of monitoring customers under the Consumer Duty, rather than just their activity.

The FCA has proposed removing non-UK business from the scope of Consumer Duty to help wholesale financial businesses involved in retail markets.

The FCA has warned finance firms to ensure they put customers’ needs first and avoid foreseeable harm, including those in vulnerable circumstances.

The Consumer Duty has helped improve standards in financial services but more progress is needed and some areas of board monitoring are "weak", a senior FCA figure has said.

The Consumer Duty was introduced on 31 July 2023 and it’s fair to say it has shaken up the financial services sector and driven improvements in consumer protection - but is it having the full effect intended?

Some smaller regulated firms have found limitations in the range of data they can access when it comes to monitoring and tracking outcomes under the Consumer Duty, according to a new report from the FCA.

FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi has signalled a move away from a strict rules-based approach on regulation to an outcomes-based approach based around the Consumer Duty and supervisory tools.

I suspect many Financial Planners are still in two minds about the FCA’s targeted support plans which moved a step forward this week with a provisional go-live date of April.

The FCA has issued a warning to providers of contracts for difference (CFDs) after its review found that some firms were not meeting its Consumer Duty requirements.

Four in five (79%) financial advisers and wealth managers have seen an increase in compliance expenditure over the past year, according to a new report.

The FCA has shared plans to streamline its Consumer Duty rules following stakeholder input.

Meaningful progress in Consumer Duty reporting will require “continued collaboration between sector stakeholders where good practice is shared”, according to a new report from the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII).

Average investment product documents sent to clients remain over 21,000 words long two years on from the FCA's Consumer Duty coming into force.

It appears that the Consumer Duty has resulted in several positive outcomes, however one thing it has failed to shift is the mountain of paperwork which still deluges most clients.

The Consumer Duty has made the industry more professional and given clients better financial outcomes.

I don’t think I was the only one a little surprised by the Chancellor’s decision this week to order a significant review of at least part of the Consumer Duty, which was only fully introduced in 2023.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that the impact of the Consumer Duty, introduced by the FCA in 2023, is “under review.”

The Consumer Duty Alliance (CDA), a not-for-profit body supporting the Consumer Duty changes, has today launched a new data forum to assess what a data-led regulator means for advisory firms.

The FCA has set out its next steps on Consumer Duty, publishing proposals that aim to simplify communications about savings accounts.