New guidance to help meet Consumer Duty requirements

PMS Mortgage Club, in partnership with compliance experts Bankhall, has rolled out a new support service to help mortgage and protection firms adapt to the ‘new normal’ of Consumer Duty following implementation earlier this week.

This introduces a new Consumer Principle which requires firms “to act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers”. 

Finance institutions and key operators such as brokers have been warned they must be ready for one of the biggest-ever shake-ups of consumer finance - all aimed at improving outcomes for customers. This could mean customers being told about better interest rates on a mortgage or scrapping unreasonable fees. The FCA has been outspoken saying it will come down hard on those who ignore or flout these expectations. 

With some directly authorised mortgage firms expressing concerns over their ability to adapt to the FCA’s requirements for demonstrating fair value, the new guidance offers targeted support in this area, and will help firms prepare for the FCA’s examples of good and bad practice, which are expected to be published later this year.

The new additional support from PMS and Bankhall includes guidance on the steps firms should take to help demonstrate fair value, a valuable Consumer Duty checklist to help firms measure and demonstrate how they are embedding the new requirements, as well as examples of best practice across the industry.

Group director Alex Beavis says: “Consumer Duty is a sea change in terms of the way firms are regulated and so it is unsurprising many feel they need additional support. 

“In partnership with Bankhall, we’ve looked to do the heavy-lifting and collate all the information firms need to demonstrate fair value and governance in one place, as well as help them set out a process for continually stress testing and reviewing their work.