Sarah Wilson, Financial Services Authority (FSA) Director of the Retail Firms Division, gave a speech on Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) in wholesale markets at the Protiviti breakfast meeting on 15 April 2008. A copy of the speech is available here.

Ms Wilson summarised the TCF initiative, including the TCF outcomes that the FSA expects to see. The FSA has provided 6 TCF outcomes which are being used by the TCF initiative to focus firms on treating customers fairly. Ms Wilson highlighted why the TCF initiative is necessary and why firms should persevere during the market turbulence and meet TCF deadlines.

Ms Wilson provided an explanation of the firms to which the TCF initiative applies. Not only are firms that are directly involved with end retail clients (including both providers and distributors of retail products and services) included but also firms (or business lines within the firms) that do not deal directly with end retail clients (or even necessarily know who the end consumers of the products are) if the firms’ actions have a material impact on the outcomes for retail clients. The FSA warned that it will expect to be provided with evidence that the TCF outcomes are being met in these firms.

Ms Wilson also reminded firms that those that rise to the delivery of the TCF outcomes can expect significant benefits in terms of reputation and longer market growth, as well as a regulatory dividend through less intrusive supervisory testing. She concluded by encouraging firms to continue their focus and energy into measurable improvements in the treatment of customers.

Click here to read a recent blog on treating customers fairly.