Regulatory and compliance

FCA publishes policy statement on SME access to the FOS

Published on 30th Oct 2018

The FCA has published near-final rules on extending access to the Financial Ombudsman Service to more small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as to larger charities and trusts and a new category of personal guarantors.

The rules expand the scope of those persons who are considered to be "eligible complainants" under the DISP rules to not only cover consumers, micro-enterprises and CBTL consumers, but to also include:

  • charities that have an annual income of less than £6.5 million (currently £1 million) at the time the complaint is referred to the relevant firm;
  • trustees of trusts that have a net asset value of less than £5 million (currently £1 million) at the time the complaint is referred to the relevant firm;
  • small businesses (defined as enterprises which are not micro-enterprises and have an annual turnover of less than £6.5 million (or its equivalent in any other currency) and who either employ fewer than 50 persons or have a balance sheet total of less than £5 million (or its equivalent in any other currency); and
  • guarantors (being a person who is not a consumer and has given a guarantee or security in respect of an obligation or liability of a person which was a micro-enterprise or small business as at the date that the guarantee or security was given) in so far as they have provided a guarantee or security in relation to a specific product.

The FCA intends to finalise the near-final rules by the end of 2018, with a view to these coming into force on 1 April 2019. Firms will need to consider the new rules once they are published and ensure that they are ready to comply with these by the effective date.

Share

* This article is current as of the date of its publication and does not necessarily reflect the present state of the law or relevant regulation.

Connect with one of our experts

Interested in hearing more from Osborne Clarke?