Financial Services Governance & Compliance

We advise regulated firms and individuals on the practical application of UK financial services regulation and help businesses navigate increasingly complex compliance obligations.

Our work includes advice on:

• The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA)
• FCA Handbook requirements
• PRA Rulebook obligations
• Regulatory perimeter issues
• Conduct of business requirements
• Governance frameworks
• Ongoing compliance support
• Regulatory reporting obligations
• Board and senior management responsibilities
• Compliance reviews and health checks.

Our advice is practical, commercially focused and proportionate to the size, structure and regulatory profile of your business.

Obtaining and maintaining FCA authorisation is a key element of an effective compliance framework.

We advise firms throughout the authorisation process and beyond, including:

• FCA authorisation applications
• Variation of permission applications
• Change in control applications
• Senior manager approvals
• Waiver applications
• Regulatory restructuring projects
• Perimeter analysis and regulated activity assessments.

Our experience includes supporting firms through regulatory approval processes and advising on complex restructuring transactions, including Part VII transfers and Part 26 schemes of arrangement where regulatory oversight forms a key component of the transaction.

We support established businesses, start-ups and firms seeking to launch new products, enter new markets or expand existing services.

Consumer Duty continues to be a key area of focus for the FCA and requires firms to demonstrate that they deliver good outcomes for retail customers.

We assist firms with:

• Consumer Duty implementation
• Governance and board oversight
• Fair value assessments
• Customer communications reviews
• Vulnerable customer frameworks
• Monitoring and management information
• Gap analysis and assurance reviews.

We help firms move beyond policy documents and demonstrate meaningful compliance in practice.

Strong governance remains central to regulatory compliance and effective risk management.

We advise on:

• The Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR)
• Statements of Responsibility
• Fitness and propriety assessments
• Certification processes
• Conduct rule compliance
• Governance structures
• Accountability frameworks.

Our objective is to help firms create practical governance arrangements that support growth while standing up to regulatory scrutiny.

Financial crime remains one of the FCA's key supervisory priorities.

We advise on:

• Anti-money laundering frameworks
• Sanctions compliance
• Customer due diligence processes
• Suspicious activity reporting
• Financial crime risk assessments
• AML training and governance
• Remediation programmes.

We help firms identify weaknesses in systems and controls before they become regulatory concerns.

The FCA continues to scrutinise financial promotions and customer communications across both traditional and digital channels.

We advise on:

• Financial promotions compliance
• Digital marketing and social media campaigns
• Customer communications
• Promotional approvals
• Consumer protection obligations
• Website and content reviews.

This includes helping firms launch new products and services while remaining compliant with applicable regulatory requirements.

Effective compliance depends on knowledgeable staff, strong governance and robust internal controls.

We provide:

• Board training
• SM&CR training
• Consumer Duty workshops
• AML training
• Compliance audits
• Gap analyses
• Governance reviews.

Our training programmes are tailored to the firm's business model, regulatory exposure and objectives.

Our team includes lawyers with experience gained within the FCA and PRA, providing valuable insight into how regulators assess firms, governance arrangements and compliance frameworks in practice.

This experience includes advising on FCA authorisations, change in control assessments, senior manager approvals and regulatory policy, together with experience supporting supervisory teams and regulatory decision-making processes.

We have also advised on the regulation and supervision of life insurance and pension providers and have experience of significant regulatory matters involving both the FCA and PRA. This insight enables us to provide advice that reflects not only the legal framework, but also how regulators approach supervision, governance, accountability and risk management in practice.

Our experience in designing and delivering regulatory training on governance, accountability, regulatory powers and supervisory expectations means we understand the standards against which firms are assessed and the practical steps organisations can take to demonstrate compliance.