B-COMPLIANT URGES ACTION ON FINAL CALL FOR DP DATA

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26 April 2021 

Manchester-based compliance experts, B-Compliant, are warning financial firms who did not meet the Directory Persons deadline at the end of March to heed the final call for submissions.

Last week, the FCA emailed some 2,800 consumer-facing firms who did not submit the required information about certified staff, giving them a week to comply.

B-Compliant director, Vicky Pearce, said: “It is likely many small firms without compliance support were so busy, the original March 31 Directory Persons deadline passed them by. In the case of mortgage advisers, it might have been that they weren’t included in CF30s and did not realise they had a responsibility to submit.

“These firms are now on their last chance with the FCA and I would urge them to complete the submission this week. Failure to do so could be costly and time consuming in the long run.”

The FCA has confirmed a large number of firms across various sectors failed to submit Directory Persons data by March 31. It has prioritised those with consumer-facing activities and alerted them to their responsibilities, in a bid to prevent consumer harm. They include firms with individuals carrying out controlled functions, which were withdrawn as part of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, who undertake Designated Investment Business and The Lloyd’s Market activities, along with mortgage advisers with regulated activities.

Any business in receipt of an email from the FCA that fails to submit Directory Persons data by the end of this week will be passed to the late returns team and will incur a £250 administration fee, pending all necessary steps to ensure compliance or the removal of permissions.

Vicky added: “We are aware how difficult it is, particularly for smaller firms, to meet the FCA’s regulatory demands, but we can’t emphasise enough how important it is that the Directory Persons information is processed. My colleagues and I are happy to speak to anyone who is in receipt of an email from the FCA and would like advice or support.”

B-Compliant specialises in compliance for small and medium-sized FCA regulated businesses, including financial and mortgage advisers, wealth, fund and discretionary investment managers, private equity firms and insurance brokers. For more information, telephone (0161) 521 8641, visit: www.b-compliant.co.uk or follow the firm on Twitter, @b_compliant.