Browse all articles across people aspects of regulation and people development within UK financial services
I could have entitled this article – Are you using your Apprenticeship Levy? but I know, from the conversations I have had with a number of firms, a large percentage of the people reading this would have immediately stopped ‘Apprenticeships are for young people, the 16- 19 year olds,’ ‘ we’re not the kind of…
FCA cross-sector priorities – Conduct and Culture Remember that an FCA Director of Supervision once said? ‘The right culture is essential for achieving good conduct performance. This is not though a fluffy view of vague corporate aspirations or value statements.’ If you do, you will also remember it was back in 2014.
‘Our focus on culture and governance in financial services and its impact on individuals and firms conduct is a priority. We will continue to promote the right cultures, behaviours and effective governance across the industry to deliver appropriate outcomes for consumers, markets and competition consistent with our objectives.
The most important single financial decision facing the baby-boomers of middle England today is what to do with their defined benefit pension rights. It is – alas – a binary decision as few schemes offering split transfer values; the choice is “should I stay or should I go”.
On the 16th March this year, Andrew Bailey, Chief Executive of FCA, gave a speech at a conference for Independent Non Exec Directors in Hong Kong. It was interesting, if a bit cerebral in places. What was very significant was the title – “Culture in financial institutions: it’s everywhere and nowhere”*.
It is now exactly a year since the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) formally implemented the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) into the banking world as a complete overhaul of the previous Approved Persons Regime (APER) to increase individual accountability.
What is culture? The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as – ‘The philosophy, practices, and attitudes of an institution, business, or other organisation’. Generally culture is something that develops naturally over long periods of time shaped as it is by so many factors – societal, demographic, political, social economic etc.
The most important single financial decision facing the baby-boomers of middle England today is what to do with their defined benefit pension rights. It is – alas – a binary decision as few schemes offering split transfer values; the choice is “should I stay or should I go”.
From discussions I have had with employers, it is evident that there are still a lot to understand about the new apprenticeship levy and standards, as well as many misunderstandings and myths to dispel. Let’s dispel a few of them here: Myth Number 1: “I don’t have any apprentices.
The Pension Schemes Bill (the Bill) is expected to be enacted in 2017 and focusses on protecting savers and maintaining confidence in pension savings. The pensions market has responded to the introduction of auto-enrolment and has developed a new product – the workplace Master Trust “scheme”.
Think ‘apprenticeships’ and one could easily be inclined towards thinking of young men and women in overalls learning the skills of a trade perhaps of fixing cars, wiring plugs or laying bricks. We have become accustomed to a narrow, ‘trade’ definition, despite the fact that apprenticeships in financial services, banking, insurance etc.
The CISI has updated its Code of Conduct and made some changes to its requirements for continuing professional development. Republished with permission from the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI). The CISI defines ‘professionalism’ as the effective combination of knowledge, skills and behaviour.
