PIMFA’s response to FCA Consultation CP 21/28: New cancellation and variation power; Changes to the Handbook and Enforcement Guide

PIMFA’s response to FCA’s Consultation CP 21/28: New cancellation and variation power; Changes to the handbook and Enforcement Guide. Overall, we welcome the FCA’s new power, conferred by the Financial Services Act 2021, to cancel or vary permissions where firms are no longer carrying on any regulated activities. We also understand the value of having an accurate Financial Services Register and the benefit of the FCA being able to act quickly to reduce the risks of consumer harm. However, a concern is whether the new FCA power may mean that they are at risk of losing some permissions which they hold, which had been applied for as a precautionary measure (for example advising on a regulated mortgage or credit agreement) and which they may only be using occasionally