Consumer protection and FCA Consumer Duty

This Overview is a guide to the Lexis+® UK Financial Services content within the Consumer protection and the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Consumer Duty sub-topic, with links to the appropriate materials. It focuses on those aspects of regulation in the UK which relate specifically to the FCA’s Consumer Duty (Principle 12) and Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) (Principle 6) of the Principles for Businesses (PRIN) (see PRIN 2.1.1 R), in addition to firms’ regulatory obligations towards vulnerable customers.

The UK’s regulatory structure comprising the FCA and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), combined with international moves to shore up global financial stability and regulation, means that all regulatory bodies are, directly or indirectly, working towards consumer protection. In the UK, the FCA has a statutory duty to protect consumers under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000) and takes the lead in consumer protection in financial services. The FCA’s Consumer Duty and its previous initiative in this area, the concept of Treating Customers Fairly (TCF), are flagship policies of this objective.

UK consumer protection financial services regulation sits within a larger