Proposal made by FCA for new Directory of financial service workers

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is proposing a new Directory to help boost the protection of consumers and businesses by making it easier for them to access the history and status of individuals working in the finance sector.

The Directory will enable consumers to access information on staff working across a number of different areas in the sector, including investment advisors.

Easy

According to the FCA, the Directory will be easy to use, with consumers being able to carry out searches to find local advisors. Information will be provided through the Financial Services Register, with the FCA aiming to provide a user-friendly Directory that offers information that is easy to understand.

As part of its proposal, the FCA is now calling for feedback on the Directory in order to decide which individuals should be included, what information the guide should provide on finance workers, and when financial services firms should update employee details.

While the Financial Services Register currently provides information on senior management, the FCA is now looking to include individuals working across a wider range of financial services roles, including financial advisors and traders.

The proposal for the Directory comes after the introduction of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR), a consumer protection scheme for banking firms that the FCA is now looking to extend to all regulated businesses.

Confident

Commenting on the Directory, the FCA’s Executive Director of Supervision (Retail and Authorisations) Jonathan Davidson said: “We’ve listened to feedback from firms and consumers about the importance of being able to check the status of financial services staff. Introducing the Directory will make it easier for people to be confident they can find the right people to deal with.”