FCA publishes first ‘perimeter of authorisation’ following funeral plan regulation

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its first annual perimeter report.

The new report comes in the same month the body said it was going to regulate the funeral plan market to bring an end to the use of “high pressure and misleading tactics”.

The FCA perimeter determines which firms require authorisation and what level of protection consumers can expect for the financial services and products they purchase.

The report, which will be published yearly, sets out:

• What the FCA does and doesn’t regulate
• What challenges the perimeter presents and the actions the FCA is taking to overcome them
• What this means for consumers
• Whether there are any issues with the perimeter which might require legislative or other changes

Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the FCA, said: “We appreciate that the current perimeter is complicated. The boundary between which firms and activities do or don’t require regulation, is being constantly tested. The recent behaviour of some firms operating around the perimeter has caused serious consumer harm and reduced trust in regulated financial services markets.

“We will publish this report annually from now on, in order to highlight issues around the perimeter.”