UK Regulators Revise Rules On Regulatory References

On September 28, 2016, the PRA and the FCA published revised rules on regulatory references for banking and insurance firms subject to the Senior Manager and Certification Regime and the Senior Insurance Manager Regime, respectively. Regulatory references are employment references passed between firms when an individual moves roles. The PRA and FCA consulted late last year on proposals to implement the recommendation of the Fair and Effective Markets Review that a mandatory form of regulatory references be introduced. Feedback to the proposed rules raised concerns about the legal consequences of the requirements and pointed to data protection and confidentiality issues.

The regulators therefore published interim regulatory reference rules in February 2016, which came into effect on March 7, 2016, in line with the commencement of the SM&CR and SIMR. These interim rules apply to banks, building societies, PRA-designated investment firms and incoming third-country