Wed, May 6, 2020
The FCA provided guidance around the application of SM&CR by solo-regulated firms during the COVID-19 crisis. The FCA does not require firms to have a single Senior Manager responsible for their coronavirus response, but firms should allocate responsibilities in order to manage the associated existing and emerging risks.
Firms may need to make changes to Senior Manager responsibilities in response to the crisis, and the FCA has issued a Modification by Consent to the 12-week rule. It is designed to support firms using temporary arrangements during the crisis, and provides two modifications:
Firms wishing to take advantage of this Modification by Consent should submit an application through FCA Connect.
The FCA does not expect firms to submit updated Statements of Responsibilities if the changes are temporary, but any temporary changes must be fully documented and may be requested by the FCA.
Fixed firms, however, should supply the FCA with timely detail of the changes they would normally include in updated Statements of Responsibilities, and inform their FCA supervisors by email or telephone if Senior Managers are furloughed.
We recommend reading the full FCA statement, which is available here.
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