FCA publishes New Consumer Duty finalised guidance

The FCA are introducing rules comprising: 

• A new Consumer Principle that requires firms to act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers.  
• Cross-cutting rules providing greater clarity on our expectations under the new Principle and helping firms interpret the four outcomes.  
• Rules relating to the four outcomes we want to see under the Consumer Duty. These represent key elements of the firm-consumer relationship which are instrumental in helping to drive good outcomes for customers. 

The four outcomes relate to:

• products and services  
• price and value   
• consumer understanding  
• consumer support  

FCA rules require firms to consider the needs, characteristics and objectives of their customers – including those with characteristics of vulnerability – and how they behave, at every stage of the customer journey. As well as acting to deliver good customer outcomes, firms will need to understand and evidence whether those outcomes are being met.  

More information can be found on the FCA website here.