Firms urged to intensify efforts to treat customers fairly

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published its latest update on firms' progress towards the December deadline for demonstrating that they are consistently treating their customers fairly.

The March interim deadline required firms to have management information (MI) in place to test whether they are treating their customers fairly. So the FSA's latest assessments focused on whether firms had adequate MI rather than assessing whether customers are being treated fairly in practice. Of the sample of firms assessed, a minority (13%) met the March deadline - but many firms have invested significant time and energy working to measure TCF, and the FSA believes that, with a substantial, continuing effort, approximately 80% of the sample are still capable of meeting the December deadline.

Sarah Wilson, FSA Director, Treating Customers Fairly, said: "Having appropriate MI or other measures in place puts firms in a position where they can measure the quality of the outcomes they are delivering for consumers. These results show that adequate MI is not yet fully in place in the firms assessed - it does not mean that they are treating their customers unfairly. However, we now expect all firms to maintain their momentum and to undertake a significant amount of further work to meet the December deadline of demonstrating that they are consistently treating their customers fairly."

For firms that failed to meet the March deadline on time and where the FSA thinks it unlikely the firm is capable of meeting the December deadline, the FSA will intervene.

To help firms consolidate their progress so far, and assist them in meeting the December deadline, the FSA has also published further material illustrating good and poor practice in the measurement of outcomes, using examples observed during the assessments.

In January 2008, the FSA launched the small firms' enhanced strategy to help small firms achieve fair outcomes for consumers. The FSA has not yet assessed a representative sample of this group from which conclusions can be drawn about small firms as a whole, so results against the enhanced strategy will be published at a later date.

The FSA will continue to focus firms' attention on the December deadline and will press for continued progress in coming months.