December 2018
10 December: The Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) has been extended to insurers. The extension is being introduced through the application of the Commencement regulations that have been published by HM Treasury for the relevant amendments to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) in the Bank of England and Financial Services Act 2016. To reflect the extension, all references to ‘Senior Insurance Managers Regime (SIMR)’ and ‘Senior Insurance Management Function (SIMF)’ have been amended to ‘Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR)’ and ‘Senior Management Function (SMF)’ respectively.
Updated forms to reflect the extension are available on the Senior Managers Regime: approvals page.
For more details on the extension, please see PS15/18 ‘Strengthening individual accountability in insurance: Extension of the SM&CR to insurers’ and SS35/15 ‘Strengthening individual accountability in insurance’. The FCA has also updated its website to reflect the extension.
7 December: Due to essential maintenance ahead of the extension of the SM&CR to insurers, the Financial Services Register will be unavailable from 17:00 Friday 7 December to 09:00 Monday 10 December. Please see the Financial Services Register for more information.
November 2018
15 November: In line with our recent Letter to Level One firms’ Chairs of the Remuneration Committees ‘Change to supervising remuneration compliance for Level One firms’, we have updated the language within the Level 1 RPS template and data tables. These are available under ‘Self-assessment templates and tables’.
9 November: Ahead of the extension of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) to insurers on Monday 10 December 2018, we published Policy Statement 27/18 ‘Strengthening accountability: Implementing the extension of the SM&CR to insurers (Part 2)’.
October 2018
18 October: Ahead of the extension of the SM&CR to insurers on Monday 10 December 2018, we published Policy Statement 26/18 ‘Strengthening accountability: Implementing the extension of the SM&CR to insurers’. Firms are also encouraged to see the note we published on ‘Redesignation of Senior Insurance Management Functions to Senior Management Functions, and the change-over to ‘Statements of responsibilities’ by insurers’.
September 2018
17 September: We published Consultation Paper 20/18 ‘Strengthening accountability: implementing the extension of the SM&CR to insurers (Part 2)’. This consultation closes on Monday 15 October 2018, so that final rules can be made in advance of implementation so as to give firms and industry participants certainty on the technical details of the regime prior to commencement on Monday 10 December 2018. Alongside the consultation, the PRA published a note on ‘Redesignation of Senior Insurance Management Functions to Senior Management Functions, and the change-over to ‘Statements of responsibilities’ by insurers’.
10 September: The FCA has published information on what insurers may need to do in preparation for the extension of the Senior Managers & Certification Regime on Monday 10 December 2018, see ‘Timeframes’ on the FCA’s Senior Managers and Certification Regime: insurers webpage. For information about PRA-led Senior Management Functions see PRA Supervisory Statement 35/15 ‘Strengthening individual accountability in insurance’.
July 2018
31 July: We published Consultation Paper 18/18 ‘Strengthening accountability: implementing the extension of the SM&CR to insurers’. This consultation closes on Monday 1 October 2018, which is intended to ensure that final rules can be made in advance of implementation so that the industry has certainty on the technical details of the regime prior to commencement on Monday 10 December 2018.
4 July: We published PS15/18 ‘Strengthening individual accountability in insurance: Extension of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime to insurers’.
The extended SM&CR for insurers will not come into effect until commencement regulations have been made by HM Treasury for the relevant amendments to FSMA in the 2016 Act. If necessary, the PRA will amend our rules accordingly.
February 2018
7 February: We published PS1/18 ‘Strengthening individual accountability in insurance: optimisations to the SIMR’, and an update to SS35/15 ‘Strengthening individual accountability in insurance’. Please note:
- the rule requiring insurers to have a diversity policy for their boards will become effective on Monday 9 April 2018;
- the rules to implement the optimisations to the SIMR will become effective on Monday 10 December 2018;
- the expectations in the updated version of SS35/15 will become effective from Monday 10 December 2018; and
- firms should submit the forms for the approval of individuals who will perform the Chief Operations function (SIMF24), or the Head of Large Business Area function (SIMF6), from Monday 10 December 2018.
On Wednesday 7 February we also issued a modification by consent of Fitness and Propriety 2.7 so that firms subject to ring-fencing may apply to be exempt from having to obtain regulatory references from firms outside their group in respect of certain intragroup employee transfers linked to ring-fencing transfers.
January 2018
On Monday 29 January HM Treasury announced that the extension of the Senior Managers & Certification Regime will come into effect on 10 December 2018.