The CeRCC single module qualification, launched earlier in the year, was developed to assist individuals and firms in the fair treatment of customers.
Mark Roberts, head of faculty – financial regulation at ifs, said: “The Certificate in Regulated Customer Care aims to improve the understanding of the TCF concept and the FSA’s intentions.
“We are delighted the industry has been quick to embrace the principles of TCF and has taken steps to embed these principles within their organisations.”
The website www.treatingcustomersfairly.com has been dedicated to assisting advisers in their understanding of TCF.
Oliver Page, the FSA’s director leading the TCF work, said: “Putting customers’ interests at the heart of their business structures should be ‘business as usual’ for firms. While we have seen encouraging signs of progress from the industry, there is still more to be done before we can be satisfied that all firms are treating customers fairly.
“We have seen examples of firms that have not gone much further than an initial consideration of how TCF works and – while we do not expect changes overnight – we do expect senior management to take the lead and make practical changes to the way they do business in order to implement TCF strategies.”
l In a recent report, conducted by banking technology specialists Misys, more than one in three people (38 per cent) said they would recommend their bank to a friend.
Peter Anderton, head of marketing for retail banking at Misys Banking Systems, saw this as a positive result on the back of recent FSA TCF reports. He said: “Many in the industry will be pleasantly surprised that retail banks rate this highly in the collective minds of UK consumers.”
