FSA focuses on ethics

Recent FSA Consultation Papers place an emphasis on ethics and indicate that firms and individuals will have to demonstrate their professional status and integrity in the future. 

In CP10/12 Competence and Ethics (June 2010) there is a new emphasis on ‘personal accountability and how actions impact public perceptions’. This includes additions to the Approved Persons (APER) descriptions of behaviour, specifically:

• paying due regard to the interests of a customer; and

• deliberate acts, omissions or business practices that could be reasonably expected to cause consumer detriment

CP10/14 Delivering the RDR: Professionalism (June 2010) sets out decisions to:

• implement professional standards through the Handbook, supervision and enforcement; and

• require firms to ensure that their advisers are subject to independent verification and hold a Statement of Professional Standing (SPS).

The SPS will include an annual declaration that advisers:

– have kept their knowledge up to date; and

– complied with APER ie including the new ethical criteria

Both restate that the T&C rules require ‘achieving a good standard of ethical behaviour’ (TC1.1.4G) - which gives an overall picture of competence. There will be new supervision powers and additional data collection from complainants, whistle-blowers and professional bodies who will confirm that advisers have ‘carried out relevant CPD activity and adhered to ethical behaviour consistent with that set out in APER’.

The Ethical Space has supported this direction for the FSA and has contributed to firms' implementation and embedding of ethical values.