Regulations
By Maheen Hernandez
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What the Three Changes Actually Do. The clearer-boundaries piece is probably the most practically useful of the three.
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Retail Protections Stay, But Refinements Are Coming. None of this touches the retail side of the Consumer Duty. The FCA is clear on that.
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The FCA is moving to clean up its Consumer Duty rules. The regulator put out a consultation on changes aimed squarely at wholesale markets, where the current framework has…
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Three changes are on the table. The FCA wants to draw clearer lines around what the duty actually covers, with case studies spelling out activities that fall outside its scope —…
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Wholesale markets aren't retail markets.
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That's the core logic running through the whole consultation. Wholesale participants are sophisticated counterparties.
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The clearer-boundaries piece is probably the most practically useful of the three. Right now, firms operating in those grey areas — market making, custody, and similar activities…
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The accountability streamlining piece is also significant. In wholesale markets, chains of firms often work together to deliver a service or product.
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And on territorial scope — it's probably overdue. Applying UK consumer protection rules to activities aimed at non-UK customers has always been a stretch, and the proposal to…
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See also: FCA Pushes UK Consumer Credit Overhaul as Fragmented Market Fails Modern Borrowers
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None of this touches the retail side of the Consumer Duty. The FCA is clear on that. The whole point of the adjustments is to let the duty do its actual job — protecting retail…
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But the retail side isn't static either. The FCA has flagged that future consultations will sharpen client classifications, drawing clearer lines between retail and professional…
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The outcomes-based approach the FCA keeps coming back to is worth taking seriously. Rather than writing prescriptive rules that firms have to follow mechanically, the FCA wants…
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Industry feedback has clearly shaped this consultation. The FCA's willingness to come back and refine the duty based on what firms are actually experiencing is a decent sign that…
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Related: UK Crypto Firms Face February 2027 FCA Authorization Cutoff
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