MIGI 5
Disclosure of your Firm's Statutory Status
MIGI 5.1
Introduction
- 01/12/2004
MIGI 5.1.1
See Notes
You need to disclose certain information
about your firm when you conduct mortgage or insurance mediation activity
with or for customers. This is in line with Principle 7 (Communications with
clients) (see Part I, Chapter 3),
which requires you to pay due regard to the information needs of your clients
and communicate information to them in a way that is clear, fair and not misleading.
- 31/05/2005
MIGI 5.1.2
See Notes
This chapter covers the requirement in GEN
4 (see General Provisions (GEN)) that all authorised
firms disclose their 'statutory status' in every letter (or electronic equivalent)
sent to private customers. In addition, there are also specific requirements
in MCOB (see Part II, Chapter 2.2)
and ICOB (see Part III, Chapter 3.3)
relating to what information mortgage and insurance intermediaries, respectively,
have to disclose.
- 31/05/2005
MIGI 5.2
Statutory status disclosure
- 01/12/2004
MIGI 5.2.1
See Notes
Our rules require firms to provide appropriate
and adequate information about the identity of the firm's regulator, i.e.
the FSA. The requirements regarding statutory status are in GEN 4.3 and GEN 4 Annex 1. These can be
summarised as follows:
(1)
Authorised firms must take reasonable
care to ensure that every letter (or electronic equivalent) which it or its
employees send to a private customer, with a view to or in connection with
the firm carrying on a regulated activity, discloses that the firm is "Authorised
and regulated by the Financial Services Authority".
(2)
Appointed representatives are
required to disclose that "[name of Appointed Representative] is an appointed
representative of [Firm] which is authorised and regulated by the Financial
Services Authority".
(3) You should not abbreviate the Financial Services Authority to
FSA in this context.
(4) You are likely to find it convenient to include the required disclosure
on your firm's letterhead.
- 01/12/2004
MIGI 5.2.2
See Notes
To allow mortgage and insurance intermediaries
who are not currently authorised time to make the necessary changes to their
stationery, we have introduced
a transitional provision which means that firms do not have to amend their
stationery to include disclosure
of their statutory status until 15 July 2005.
- 31/05/2005
Changes to disclosure requirements when your firm carries on insurance mediation activities or regulated mortgage activities for another authorised firm or an AR
MIGI 5.2.3
See Notes
A waiver and modification by consent
has been in force for firms (third party processors) who undertake regulated activities on behalf
of another authorised firm.
This waiver and
modification affected MCOB 1.2.1 R, ICOB 1.2.1 R and GEN 4.3.1 R. This has now
been replaced by permanent rule amendments, which came into force on 1 June
2005. See the Third Party Processors Instrument 2005 - 2005/25 -www.fsahandbook.info/FSA/handbook/LI/2005/2005_25.pdf
- 31/05/2005
MIGI 5.2.4
See Notes
The rule amendments allow a third party processor (Firm A) undertaking
regulated mortgage activities or insurance mediation activities (in relation to non-investment insurance
contracts) on
behalf of another authorised firm (Firm
B) under an outsourcing contract
to disclose to customers that
it is B where our rules would otherwise require A to disclose its real identity.
The outsourcing agreement
between the two firms must acknowledge that the firm outsourcing the activities (Firm B)
accepts responsibility for the activities carried on by the other firm (Firm
A) on its behalf.
- 31/05/2005
MIGI 5.2.5
See Notes
The rules also cater for cases where an AR acts as
third party processor for its principal, or where an authorised firm acts
as third party processor for
an AR.
- 31/05/2005