Brokers to Face Harassment Scrutiny

Financial
firms regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) should prepare for
harassment and misconduct surveys arriving next week. As confirmed by the
regulator, the first questionnaires have already been sent to insurance
companies, and next in line are banks and brokers.

The FCA has
already sent detailed surveys to wholesale insurance firms, asking for
data on complaints, disciplinary actions, and use of non-disclosure agreements
(NDAs) related to issues like bullying, sexual harassment and discrimination
over the past three years.

Now, the
regulator is expanding the survey to banks and brokers. Firms will have just
four weeks to collate and submit extensive information on any allegations or
evidence of non-financial misconduct since early 2021, according to information
confirmed by Financial News (FN).

“We will be
extending our survey to wholesale banks and brokers next week,” the FCA spokesperson
commented for FN. “This work is intended to support the FCA’s understanding of
the types and instances of non-financial misconduct firms are seeing and how
they are handling it.”

While the
FCA states that more disclosures don’t necessarily indicate a worse
environment, the survey results could pressure firms toward greater
transparency. The regulator also wants firms to take allegations seriously and
have procedures to investigate promptly and take appropriate action.

This
crackdown comes amid growing scrutiny of misconduct in the financial sector.
Over two years, the FCA received 200 suspicions related to non-financial
misconduct and started several cases. What is more, specialty insurer Atrium
Underwriters was fined £1 million for failures allowing discrimination and
harassment issues to persist unchecked.

Brokers
should inform compliance
Compliance

In finance, banking, investing, and insurance compliance refers to following the rules or orders set down by the government regulatory authority, either as providing a service or processing a transaction. Compliance concerning finance would also be a state of being following established guidelines or specifications. This designation can also encompass efforts to ensure that organizations are abiding by both industry regulations and government legislation. Understanding ComplianceCompliance is a

In finance, banking, investing, and insurance compliance refers to following the rules or orders set down by the government regulatory authority, either as providing a service or processing a transaction. Compliance concerning finance would also be a state of being following established guidelines or specifications. This designation can also encompass efforts to ensure that organizations are abiding by both industry regulations and government legislation. Understanding ComplianceCompliance is a
Read this Term teams and senior management to expect the survey next
week. Given the short turnaround, firms should quickly pull together relevant
misconduct data to demonstrate an environment of accountability rather than
attempting to hide problems.