The Financial Conduct Authority has published a speech by deputy chief executive Sarah Pritchard for the BSA Annual Conference that sets out the regulator's priorities for mutuals and the wider retail finance market. She said the FCA is using its reform programme to move to a less prescriptive, outcomes-focused and Consumer Duty-centred approach, and confirmed that it will consult in June on revised responsible lending standards intended to help more first-time buyers and underserved borrowers, including those with variable or irregular incomes. The speech also highlights supervisory attention on consumer vulnerability and mortgage refinancing as nearly 2 million fixed-rate deals come to an end this year. Pritchard said mortgage arrears peaked in 2024 and are falling, restated firms' obligations to support customers in or at risk of financial difficulty and to signpost free debt advice before taking further debt collection steps, and referred to published redress proposals aimed at giving firms more consistency and consumers faster compensation, with the Financial Ombudsman Service described as central to system confidence. Support for firms includes Consumer Duty good and poor practice guides, tailored information for smaller firms, and the Mutuals Society Development Unit launched with the Prudential Regulation Authority. Other measures cited include greater lender flexibility to use the 15% loan-to-income flow limit, stress-testing clarifications that prompted 85% of the mortgage market to change approach, and a February TechSprint on using open finance data for remortgaging and overpayments. On the advice side, Targeted Support is now live, with some firms approved on the first working day of the regime, and the FCA is consulting on changes to the simplified advice regime. Former Newcastle Building Society chief operating officer Amanda Shepherd will join the FCA in May as senior adviser for mutuals, and the FCA said it is working with the Prudential Regulation Authority to reduce unnecessary barriers for credit unions.
Financial Conduct Authority 2026-04-28
Financial Conduct Authority outlines June responsible lending consultation and mutual sector support in speech
The Financial Conduct Authority published a speech by Sarah Pritchard setting priorities for mutuals and the wider retail finance market, including a shift to a less prescriptive, outcomes-focused, Consumer Duty-centred regime and a June consultation on revised responsible lending standards for first-time buyers and underserved borrowers. The speech stressed focus on consumer vulnerability and mortgage refinancing as fixed-rate deals expire, firms’ duties to support customers in financial difficulty, greater lender flexibility on the 15% loan-to-income flow limit, stress-testing clarifications, open finance TechSprints, the launch of Targeted Support, consultation on simplified advice, a senior adviser for mutuals, and joint work with the PRA to reduce barriers for credit unions.