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PIMFA NEWS BULLETIN | 24 APRIL 2020 Welcome to your new and improved Weekly PIMFA Bulletin! Grab a coffee and take 10 minutes to read the highlights of all this week's key issues affecting the financial services industry.
WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER Dear Nigel, We hope you and your loved ones are well and are keeping safe during this challenging time. Due to COVID-19 the physical PIMFA office is closed but all work continues as normal with our staff working remotely and we are continuing to operate on our members behalf and represent your interests.
We are committed to delivering as much information as possible to our members and the weekly PIMFA Bulletin contains the latest news on the impact of the virus and other key issues from within PIMFA and the industry that affect you and your business. If there is anything we can be of assistance with, please do not hesitate to contact us at enquiries@pimfa.co.uk and we will direct your query to the person best able to help you.
Best wishes The Team at PIMFA
COVID 19 & What's happening in PIMFA
Updates from the FCA
Communicating Safely During COVID 19
Members can listen to the recent FCA update webinars and read the briefing
As firms moved to remote working, video
notes on their dedicated COVID-19 web
conferencing became essential and there
area.
was a rush to dust off existing applications and download freeware from the internet.
We are continuing to have our weekly
This was quickly followed by waves of
meetings with FCA and are logging all
stories spreading panic about the risks of
queries we raise with them. If you have
virtual meetings. As a result, Mitigo has
any issues regarding the impact of the
produced a brief summary of the guidance
Coronavirus on your business or clients,
they give clients to stay secure, which can
or other intelligence about the impact on
be read here.
the market, platform providers or emerging scams, please email Ian
Further, as the National Cyber Security
Cornwall.
Centre warns businesses implementing remote working practices to ‘be aware of
HM Treasury: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Up and Running
email scams and encrypt/protect sensitive data’, Beyond Encryption has taken the decision to offer FREE and fully featured user licences for a period of 2 months to enable you to safeguard the data within
The Government’s Coronavirus Job
your emails. More information is available
Retention Scheme (CJRS) went live on
here.
20th April, with the Chancellor also Brexit: Negotiations
announcing that the scheme will be extended for a further month until the end of June, to reflect continuing Covid-19
This week the UK and EU began the
lockdown measures. The scheme allows
second round of negotiations on their
employers to go online to claim cash
post-Brexit relationship with a plenary
grants worth up to 80% of wages, capped
session on Monday, 20 April. The talk
at ÂŁ2,500 a month per worker. 5000
started in earnest on Tuesday, 21 April
HMRC staff will be operating the scheme,
and will continue throughout the week.
which is expected to help thousands of
The agenda the two sides have agreed
firms across the UK.
includes trade in goods and services, level playing field for open and fair competition,
Further information is available here.
fisheries, transport (road and aviation) , law enforcement and judicial cooperation
PIMFA Investment Scams Campaign Recent Scam Examples Needed
in criminal matters, UK participation in EU programmes, energy (civil nuclear cooperation) and mobility and social coordination. The technical talks led by experts will end on Friday, 24 April with a
As part of our Financial and Mental
political meeting between the Chief
Wellbeing campaign, we have launched
Negotiators David Frost and Michel
an initiative to keep savers safe from
Barnier.
scams, especially in light of COVID. This initiative will provide consumers with
For further information, please
information on how to spot and avoid
contact Maja Erceg.
scams, as well as warnings about the latest scams that we know about, among Share Your stories
a whole host of other information. If you are aware of any scams please let us know by contacting
How is your firm is adapting to continue
enquiries@pimfa.co.uk.
delivering your services and finding ways to help support the national effort? Please
PIMFA Podcasts & Webinars
share your stories with us by emailing us.
Library
These examples are very helpful when it comes to showcasing the profession, the value you add and the difference you make.
Each week we are running our members only Webinar Wednesday on key topics
FCA: Changes to regulatory
impacted by COVID. This week we
reporting up to 30 June 2020
discussed the government’s reaction to COVID 19 & it's long term impacts, a
In a further move to ease the regulatory
briefing note is available for members
burden, the FCA has announced a
here.
temporary extension for some firms submitting regulatory returns. This
We are also running podcasts, webinars
extension applies for submissions that are
and training courses open to all on topics
due up to and including 30 June 2020.
such as wellbeing and vulnerable clients. In addition, for small or medium-size Recordings of past podcasts and webinars
businesses paying less than ÂŁ10,000 in
on topics such as Cyber Resilience in the
fees and levies in 2020/2021, the
face of COVID, hallmarks of effective
administrative fee for late returns has
compliance, SM&CR etc can all be
been waived until 30 June 2020.
accessed in our learning library. Further information and a full list of eligible COVID-19 Information Web Areas
We have launched both public and members only web areas that provide the
returns are available here.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) launches Cyber Aware campaign.
latest information on COVID-19. For members only, they can visit their web area to access webinar recordings,
Cyber Aware is the UK government's
meeting notes, latest global response
advice on how to stay secure online
tracker, latest health statistics, updates
during the lockdown and beyond. The
from the CBI and much more.
campaign page contains simple advice and guides to improve cyber security at home.
You can visit their site here.
DB Transfers - Live Blog
PIMFA’s Senior Policy Adviser, Simon Harrington joined a recent FT Adviser live blog on the future of DB transfers with Steven Cameron, Pensions Director at Aegon and Amy Austin, Senior Pensions Reporter at FTAdviser.
In the blog they discuss how the spread of the coronavirus has shaken the market and the impact of the FCA putting its rule changes on hold. Read the blog here.
LATEST PIMFA BLOGS & PRESS RELEASES
•
PIMFA welcomes Rt. Hon. Jim Murphy to Webinar Wednesday
•
PIMFA to provide consumer advice on how to avoid scams as part of Financial and Mental Wellbeing campaign
•
Blog: Tech and the fight against Financial Crime
•
PIMFA launches first ever Virtual Festival in June
•
PIMFA welcomes FCA regulatory forbearance in wake of coronavirus outbreak
•
Blog: What does Market Abuse REALLY look like for Wealth Managers
EVENTS & LEARNING Due to the COVID-19 crisis, it is with regret that we have decided to postpone all physical events until further notice. Workshops will still be taking place online via Zoom or may be postponed. The decision has not been taken lightly; however, safeguarding the health and wellbeing of our attendees must take precedence.
Webinars and podcasts will be continuing and will be delivering content online in the coming weeks. We will be updating the website regularly and scheduling new dates. If you have any queries, please contact us at events@pimfa.co.uk.
VIRTUAL FEST We are delighted to announce the launch of Virtual Fest; a live, 2 day online learning experience covering topics such as Compliance, Cybersecurity, ESG, Operational Resilience and more.
The PIMFA Virtual Fest will take place on 3-4 June so please save the date. Registration opens soon!
3-4 June | 2 Full Days Click here to find out more
WEBINAR WEDNESDAY Our member only Webinar Wednesday’s are a live, concise update on the latest issues effecting you and your firm such as the latest on COVID-19, regulatory changes, political developments and operational issues.
In our next episode on 29 April will PIMFA senior policy analysts Giulia Lupato and Simon Harrington will discuss the threat of investment scams in the wake of the COIVD-19 crisis, the risks posed to both firms and their clients from increasingly sophisticated scams and how firms can keep themselves and their clients safe. Members can register for free here.
LATEST PIMFA CONSULTATION RESPONSE
Read the latest PIMFA consultation papers here.
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR INDUSTRY
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the FCA, supported by The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), say fears over the impact of the pandemic on markets and personal finances may make savers more vulnerable to scams or making a decision that could damage their long-term interests.
They are urging savers to take their time and visit the Pensions Advisory Service website for free plain English pensions guidance before making any decisions about their retirement savings. And to go to the ScamSmart website to learn how to protect themselves from pensions scams. This includes people already retired who are thinking again about their options.
The coronavirus outbreak has impacted on all kinds of companies, including those listed on the stock market. As a result, markets have been volatile and are likely to remain so for a while. This can have an impact on pensions, leading to additional worry for savers. It can lead to an increase in scams, as unscrupulous people try to take advantage of the situation.
Throughout this period, TPR, the FCA, MaPS and government departments will be working together to tackle any additional risks arising from the current uncertainty.
For more detail, please click here.
Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) and Covid-19: FCA's expectations of solo-regulated firms
The FCA have set out their expectations to help solo-regulated firms apply the SM&CR. They recognise that firms directly affected by coronavirus will need to keep their governance arrangements under review and make appropriate changes as circumstances
change. They do not require firms to have a single Senior Manager responsible for their coronavirus response. Firms should allocate these responsibilities in the way which best enables them to manage the risks they face. FCA have also published their expectations for dual-regulated firms with the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
The full statement can be found here.
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) publishes Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) complaints deadline final report
The FCA has today published its final report on the impact of the deadline for PPI complaints. The report highlights the outcome of the communications campaign which ran for two years and can be read here.
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