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The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Consumer Duty regulation is a set of rules that requires financial firms to prioritise their customers’ interests when providing services and offering financial products. This regulation applies to all firms that are authorised and regulated by the FCA and it sets out the principles that these firms must follow when dealing with their customers.
Under the regulation, firms are required to conduct their business with integrity, due skill, care and diligence, and to pay due regard to the interests of their customers and treat them fairly. Firms are also required to provide customers with relevant information in a clear and transparent way, so that customers can make informed decisions when choosing financial products and services.
This regulation also has the principle of a ‘duty of care’, that obligates firms to be proactive in identifying and mitigating any harms, which might arise from their products, services and practices.
Additionally, it requires firms to have appropriate systems, controls and risk management in place, and to train their staff to identify and manage risks to customers, to avoid any conflicts of interest and to act in customers’ best interests.
In summary, FCA’s Consumer Duty regulation is a set of rules that ensures that financial firms are putting customers’ interests first, when they are providing products and services, and that they are handling customers in a fair and transparent way, it obligates them to have in place appropriate controls, risk management and to avoid conflicts of interests. It’s a framework that ensures that firms are treating their customers with integrity and fairness.