It’s now been over a year since Consumer Duty came into force for open products and 31st July 2024 saw the regime extended further to closed products. The FCA took this opportunity to share feedback, and highlight areas where firms are doing well and to recommend areas for more improvement.

Sheldon Mills, FCA’s Executive Director of Consumers and Competition, emphasised that Consumer Duty had been embraced. He saw positive signs of a shift in company cultures and focus on delivering good outcomes. He illustrated this point with a few examples such as:

Advisory firms who have simplified their processes or unbundled their fee structure to improve transparency and enable consumers to compare services

Cash savings where £4bn pounds were potentially saved for customers from firms’ ability to respond quickly when base rates changed

These examples were applauded as they demonstrate firms’ ability to adapt and reflect upon changes to their business models to embed the Duty into their company culture.

Data collection

The FCA also highlighted its intention to collect more data and emphasised that firms need to review their management information, identify additional data sources and, most importantly, spend time analysing that data to identify potential harm and success stories too. Why is this so important? To find out more, read the full article.