FCA highlights its areas of concern in financial services markets

18 February 2020

The FCA has published its annual Sector Views, an assessment of the risks and potential harm to consumers across financial services markets. The Sector Views look at the impact of macroeconomic developments and common drivers of change emerging across financial markets.

They also outline areas where there may be a negative impact on consumers or the integrity of the financial system in that sector. The report sets out what factors are driving harm, as well as considering how the harm may develop over time.

The kinds of harms the FCA is concerned about, include:

• Although the FCA has seen a number of positive corrections in the credit market, FCA‘sFinancial Lives data shows that 7.4 million UK adults are over-indebted and find their financial commitment a burden.
• Pricing practices in insurance still penalise loyal customers – the ‘loyalty penalty’ in home and motor insurance cost 6 million longstanding consumers an extra £1.2 billion in 2018, and the FCA is finalising remedies following its market study.
• High-risk retail investment products are exposing consumers to more risk than they can absorb – some of the highest risk products are often marketed directly to retail consumers with poor communication of the risks involved and implications that the investments are regulated, when this is not the case.
• Many new payments firms have been able to enter the market and grow quickly, but some of their products don’t have protection in place for consumers, for example e-money services advertised as ‘current accounts’ aren’t covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Christopher Woolard, Executive Director of Strategy and Competition at the FCA and interim Chief Executive designate, said:

‘We are committed to reducing harm in the markets we regulate. Our analysis of markets ensures that we do this effectively, helping us to decide where to focus our attention. We expect firms to be similarly focused on preventing harm and assisting us where they can, and we will continue to actively supervise all firms to ensure they achieve this.​​​​​​’​​​​​​

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