On January 18, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a statement reminding UK-authorized firms of their obligations to periodically review their regulatory permissions under Part 4A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to ensure they are up-to-date or otherwise removed where they are not needed (the Statement).

Under the Financial Services Bill 2019-21 (which is currently making its way through Parliament), the FCA will be granted new powers to act swiftly where it considers that a firm is no longer carrying on regulated activities. Within the new powers, the FCA will be able to serve notice on the firm and request a written response within 14 days. If the firm does not respond, the FCA will publish a second public notice stating it appears that the firm is no longer carrying on a regulated activity. It can then alter or cancel the firm’s permissions after one month.

The FCA instructs firms with a Part 4A permission who have not carried out any regulated activities for 12 months or more, and have no current plans to do so, to apply for cancellation using the FCA’s online portal — ‘Connect’. If a firm has Part 4A permission and has not used and no longer requires certain permissions, it is advised by the FCA to apply to remove the permission by completing and submitting a variation of permission application using Connect.

In the Statement, the FCA also reminds firms of their obligation to provide an annual attestation confirming that the information held about the firm on the Financial Services Register is accurate and up-to-date.

See the FCA Statement.