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ARTICLE · 12 APRIL 2021

The SMCR, Five Years On

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Five years ago, on 7 March 2016, the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) came into force. At first it applied only to dual-regulated banks, those which are regulated both by the FCA and...

United StatesFinance and Banking
David Rundle
David Rundle
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Five years ago, on 7 March 2016, the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) came into force. At first it applied only to dual-regulated banks, those which are regulated both by the FCA and PRA. The regime has since been extended to dual-regulated insurers and on 9 December 2019 it started applying to most solo-regulated firms.

A product of the financial crisis, the SMCR was aimed at increasing both responsibility and accountability within the professional financial services sector. To a large degree, it was intended as an enforcement tool - a mechanism through which senior individuals could be sanctioned for systemic failings and serious misconduct that occurred on their watch.

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