Skill

legalcode-uk-fca-regulatory-compliance

Assess, audit, and remediate Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulatory compliance for UK-regulated firms across the full FCA Handbook: authorization under FSMA 2000 s.19 and the Regulated Activities Order 2001 (RAO), Principles for Businesses (PRIN 1–12 including Consumer Duty Principle 12), Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR — SYSC 2–4, COCON), Consumer Duty (FCA PS22/9 — four outcomes, cross-cutting rules, annual board report), Conduct of Business Sourcebook (COBS — client categorisation, suitability, best execution, MiFID II/UK MiFIR transaction reporting), Client Assets Sourcebook (CASS 6 custody, CASS 7 client money), financial promotions (FSMA 2000 s.21, FP Gateway February 2024, COBS 4), prudential requirements (MiFIDPRU ICARA, IFPR, legacy BIPRU/GENPRU), regulatory reporting (RegData/Gabriel, CMAR), Systems and Controls (SYSC — governance, risk management, compliance function, operational resilience), and financial crime controls (SYSC 6 AML/KYC, sanctions screening). Produces COMPLIANT / PARTIAL / NON-COMPLIANT / CRITICAL EXPOSURE gap analysis with prioritised remediation roadmap, SMCR governance templates, Consumer Duty board report scaffold, and Glass Box audit trail suitable for FCA correspondence. Use when assessing existing FCA compliance posture, building a compliance programme for newly authorised firms, preparing for FCA supervisory visits or enforcement action, conducting pre-acquisition FCA due diligence, reviewing SM&CR governance arrangements, assessing Consumer Duty implementation, or auditing financial promotions approval processes. Applies to all FCA-authorised firms and appointed representatives (deposit-takers, investment firms, AIFM/UCITS managers, consumer credit firms, mortgage lenders, insurance intermediaries, payment institutions, e-money institutions). Jurisdiction: England and Wales (primary); Scotland and Northern Ireland share the same FCA Handbook but have separate court and regulatory referral routes. Dual-regulated firms (banks, insurers) should supplement this skill with a separate PRA prudential assessment.