The Director of the FSA’s Treating Customers Fairly initiative (TCF) has given a speech on firms’ progress toward meeting the December 2008 deadline for implementation, showing that while advances have been made, much work still needs to be done.

Speaking at the 6th Annual British Bankers Association Treating Customers Fairly Seminar, Sarah Wilson praised the “very good work” done by some firms but added that others had not really grasped what was required and simply assumed that all was well. The majority, she said, showed clear commitment to TCF in senior management ranks but still had some way to go before the FSA could be confident that this was reaching customers and that clients were being treated fairly. She urged all firms to continue, and step up, their implementation efforts, in particular by instilling TCF culture at all levels.

The TCF initiative is aimed primarily at firms dealing with retail customers and is part of the FSA’s wider move towards principles based regulation. The key features that firms need to be able to demonstrate are outlined in our previous blog that you can view by clicking here.