TO BE PUBLISHED May 2026
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This conference will examine next steps for the Consumer Duty in the UK, with the Financial Conduct Authority moving further into a supervisory phase and firms adapting to more sustained scrutiny of outcomes. It will focus on priorities for embedding an outcomes-based regime in practice, including what may be needed from retail-facing financial services firms, intermediaries and advisers, alongside the FCA in its supervisory role and policymakers, to support consistency, proportionality and confidence across retail markets.
It will bring together key stakeholders and policymakers to discuss implications of the FCA’s recent work on the Consumer Duty, including the Consumer Duty requirements review on targeted clarifications of Handbook materials, and the FCA’s published Consumer Duty focus areas for 2025 to 2026. Discussion is expected to look at how firms are responding as supervision becomes more established, where further clarity or refinement may be helpful in supporting day-to-day delivery of the Duty, and how the regime is working in practice for firms serving retail consumers across different markets.
Implementation
Delegates will consider immediate priorities for effective delivery of the Duty, including where firms may still need greater clarity around supervisory expectations in day-to-day practice, and what proportionality should look like for different types of business. Further discussion is expected on implications of the FCA’s recent targeted clarifications to Handbook materials, including where firms, intermediaries and advisers may see scope to reduce duplication, uncertainty or unnecessary complexity while maintaining focus on consumer outcomes.
Attendees will also assess practical considerations for embedding an outcomes-based regime across retail markets, including what may be needed from governance, internal assurance, staff decision-making and record-keeping to support more consistent application. We expect a focus to be issues for smaller firms and intermediaries, including the operational and compliance considerations involved in demonstrating fair value, monitoring outcomes and evidencing that products and services are meeting the needs of retail customers.
Supervisory approaches
Sessions will also consider what the FCA’s focus areas are likely to mean in practice for supervision, including expectations around outcomes monitoring, fair value, consumer understanding, and how firms assess customer journeys, communications and product design. Discussion will look at how these approaches are being applied across different sectors and business models, and where firms may still face challenges in translating broad principles into operational practice.
Further consideration is expected on the implications for management information, governance and oversight, including how firms use data to identify weak outcomes and respond where risks emerge. Delegates will also assess the extent to which evolving supervisory expectations are influencing approaches to digital journeys, communications and monitoring, and what good practice may look like as the next phase of supervision develops.
Enforcement & next phase
The agenda will assess where application of the Duty is raising issues that cut across sectors including insurance, consumer credit, payments, pensions and investments, as well as the interaction of the Duty with existing regulation, sector-specific rules and complaints-handling frameworks. Attendees will consider what firms may need from the next phase of FCA work to support clearer alignment between the Duty and established requirements, particularly where questions remain around interpretation, scope and overlap.
Delegates will also examine the FCA’s ongoing work on the scope of the Duty for firms primarily engaged in wholesale activity, with further consultation expected in 2026 on the application and requirements of the regime, including through distribution chains. We anticipate discussion to consider expectations around enforcement and redress, how the Duty interacts with complaints and dispute-resolution frameworks, and how progress in improving consumer outcomes and trust may be assessed over time as the regime becomes more established.
Overview of areas for discussion
- Consumer Duty considerations: implications of CP25/37 targeted clarifications - addressing duplication across the FCA Handbook - proportionality for smaller firms and intermediaries
- regulatory priorities: FCA role as Consumer Duty moves into supervision phase - focus areas for 2025/26 - clarity and consistency in supervisory engagement - practical implications for firms
- assessment:
- evidencing good consumer outcomes in practice - data quality, metrics and management information - moving from process-led compliance
- application of fair value assessments across sectors - pricing, distribution and ongoing product oversight - lessons from early supervisory activity
- product design: factoring in Consumer Duty expectations at the design stage - sector-specific considerations - aligning lifecycle reviews with outcomes monitoring
- communications: improving consumer information - conveying regulatory requirements clearly - oversight of digital disclosures
- consumer protection: identifying and supporting vulnerable customers - data protection and consent requirements - alignment of Consumer Duty and data stewardship expectations
- cross-sector issues: application of the Duty across insurance, credit, payments, pensions and investments - interaction with existing product rules - addressing regulatory friction
- governance and accountability: board and senior management oversight priorities under the Duty - resourcing and capability pressures - embedding the Duty within business strategy and culture
