The Consumer Duty & The Requirements for Firms

Session 1: Where We Were – Where We Are

• Current timescales and expectations: the road to both deadlines begins this new consumer duty training

• Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) and Conduct Risk

• Alignment with SMCR

• Change to the Conduct Rules and COCON

• Current regulatory commentary on implementation quality

Session 2: The Consumer Principle / Principles 6 & 7

• Principle 12 – The Consumer Principle

• Mindset, culture and data in place to deliver the aims of the new Principle 12

• Measurement, Management and Gap Identification

• Gap filling; working towards a set goal

Session 3: Consumer Duty Cross-Cutting Rules

• Amplifying the Consumer Principle

• Three rules: Firms must act in good faith towards retail customers

• Firms must avoid foreseeable harm to retail customers

• Firms must enable and support retail customers to pursue their financial objectives

Defining and understanding regulatory expectations concludes session 2 of consumer duty training, session 3.

Discussion & Exercise – Areas of our business impacted/prioritised

Session 4: The Four Outcomes

• Focusing on retail customers

• Consumer Responsibility

• Product oversight and governance – back to the drawing board

• Pricing and accountability

• Communications: clear, fair and not misleading but supercharged

• Transforming 'customer service' to 'customer support' and the client lifecycle

Session 5: Other Important Elements

• Outsourcing the Consumer Duty – in short, not an option

• Vulnerable Customers

• No private right of action

• Impacts on T&C; Financial Promotions, Compliance Monitoring; Audit activity; Induction programmes; Employee handbooks or Codes of Conduct; and Breach Management

• IT Programme management – enhanced MI and reporting

• Evolution or revolution?

• This consumer duty course concludes Section 5 with an overview of non-handbook guidance and its practical application

Case Studies: TBC as industry commentary develops

Wrap-Up

• Summary

• Questions

• Open forum

Please note that course content is subject to last-minute changes based on the finalisation of the FCA’s new rules.

Training Objectives

Redcliffe’s FCA consumer duty course sets out the key regulatory developments, expectations, and practical considerations required to align your organisation with the FCA’s Consumer Duty framework. Training focuses on real-world application and accountability:

• The FCA’s new rules and requirements, and how we got here.

• Application of the new Principle and Conduct Rule, and where current arrangements continue.

• Applying good practices and avoiding the bad.

• The new rule requirements through each stage of the product and client life-cycle.

• The three cross-cutting rules and the four consumer outcomes. How they link to the six outcomes of treating customers fairly (TCF).

• Sessions link change to senior manager accountability under SMCR.

• Bringing these elements together, consumer duty training equips participants with a clear, structured framework to identify gaps, prioritise risks, and develop a practical action plan aligned with FCA expectations.

Training Course Summary

Consumer duty training provides an analysis and impact of the new rules. We look at the key requirements and changes, but in the context of how we got here, what they are built on, the gaps and reasons for addressing these.

Sessions review the rules and their practical implications and application:

• What do we need to do?

• What needs to change?

• What are the pitfalls, and what are our options?

The urgency to comprehend and navigate these regulatory changes is underscored, emphasising the necessity of aligning with stipulated deadlines. New consumer duty training not only serves as a knowledge repository, but it also emerges as an indispensable tool for proactively meeting implementation deadlines. Sessions give participants the requisite support to navigate the intricacies of implementation activity and exercise effective oversight of control frameworks.

Enrolling in this program, participants will gain a strategic advantage in adapting to the evolving regulatory landscape. Sessions are designed to empower all levels within an organisation, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the nuances of the new consumer duty regulations. For organisations keen on fortifying compliance mechanisms, this training offers a pivotal resource.

The rules impact a huge amount of what we do, from senior leadership teams to the shop floor and being ready to meet both deadlines. We should understand and map the challenges as soon as we are able. Consumer duty training provides essential support for implementation activity and control framework oversight.