Speaking at a TCF seminar to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Sarah Wilson, director retail firms division at the FSA, said that after the deadline passed, firms would be split into two camps – those that have progressed quickly towards adopting the TCF and those that have fallen behind.
Those who have not done enough could see a number of steps taken.
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Wilson said: “The population of firms that miss the deadline includes those where the senior management is taking least seriously the need to take action to comply with our principles. We will develop a bespoke strategy for each firm with a range of supervisory tools that we can consider, including risk mitigation programmes that place relatively little reliance on senior management action, and the use of skilled persons.”
While the FSA admitted it would be targeting firms with assistance and potential action, it was not viewing 31 March as a finite target.
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Wilson said: “It is important to stress that, if we proceed with a referral, it will be on the basis of alleged actual or potential consumer detriment – not failure to meet the deadline per se. Even those who have made the change are only saying that they are implementing a plan to comply with a principle.”
Rob Griffiths, associate director at the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, said: “This is what we have said for the last six to 12 months; that senior management must lead from the front. The deadline is about a level of engagement. It’s not like ‘Mortgage Day’ where you had to be authorised to stay in business but a line in the sand where firms show they are engaged with the concept.”
