REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

Compliance with regulation is not a new phenomenon and 'red tape' has always represented a variable cost to business. Under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000) nine financial regulators came together to form the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The goal for business is to operate within the regulations at a minimal cost. The best way to achieve this is to embrace the regulations within the culture of the business as finding out at a later date that breaches have been made may prove costly. Telos can help firms before and after a breach has been identified to find the most cost effective way of navigating through the requirements.

Principles based regulation benefits in keeping businesses flexible and innovative whilst still maintaining high standards. This said, it is also challenging for both practitioners and regulators alike to interpret the meaning of guidance on occasions. This is why there is a wealth of information provided by the regulator, compliance firms such as ourselves supporting the industry and trade bodies who help their members navigate the regulated commercial environment they inhabit. A helpful example of this is the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) useful FSA information page.

One also has to remember that the FSA is not the only regulator in this space with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) controlling consumer credit. In 2006 there were amendment made to the old Consumer Credit Act. You can find those amendments here.

Often mortgage clients require mortgage related insurances and many advisers have insurance permissions. The FSA also regulates this area through the Insurance Code of Business source, details of which can be found here.

Telos are proud of their connections with all the regulators and not only attempts to have a definitive position on the interpretation of the regulations in the context of each client but also influences the regulator's own thinking of its interpretations.