Coronavirus Gives SMCR its First Real Test

COVID-19 is proving to be the first real test of financial regulations introduced since 2008 with the Senior Managers and Certification Regime in the front line.

Speaking to the Financial Times, the FCA’s interim Chief Executive, Christopher Woolard has suggested that the Senior Managers Regime could give the regulator more weapons in ensuring corporations continue to behave ethically throughout the crisis.

Although he admitted that the FCA had little power to take action against those lenders who did not treat customers fairly, he suggested the regime did give the regulator an option to ensure fair treatment of lenders.

These rules allow regulators to take action against senior managers based on their conduct, including fair treatment of customers. With all commercial lending being unregulated, this will be the only weapon the regulator has to put pressure on banks.

However, since its introduction, the FCA has been criticised for taking relatively little action. After three years, it was only in August 2019 that it secured its first conviction when Barclays Chief Executive Jes Staley was jointly fined £642,000 by the FCA and PRA for his response to an anonymous whistleblower letter.

Since then, the regime has been extended from the banking sector and across all authorised firms, but its impact is still one which exists in the fears and imaginations of senior managers rather than in actuality. However, this crisis could be an opportunity for SM&CR to play a significant role.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, there have been a number of complaints about how banks have been treating their customers, especially in the way the Government-backed loan scheme has been rolled out. The Federation of Small Businesses has been among those raising concerns about how the loan scheme is being implemented.

Although pace has picked up, approval rates are lower than with commercial lending despite the number of companies facing difficulties. The FSB has called for reassurances from the regulator that the banks are not putting profits before people.

The FCA has written to the banks reminding them of their responsibility to treat borrowers fairly at this stressful time, but beyond that it has relatively few direct powers. SM&CR could offer an alternative approach, and Woolard admitted this period would prove to be a test of the scheme.

Nonetheless, the difficulty they’ve experienced in securing convictions so far suggests they might face an uphill battle. The problem for the regulation is that it can be difficult to attribute the action of a company to a single individual. The burden of proof lies with the FCA and, in many cases, this is proving too high a hurdle to clear.

So far, then, SM&CR has been used as an abstract threat – a tool to place more pressure on individual managers to take greater responsibility for good conduct. Whether this will be enough remains to be seen.

COVID-19 is the first period of great stress for the financial sector. It is at these moments that corporate responsibility and regulation comes under pressure. It’s also at moments like these that the cracks show and problems in the existing system are there for all too see. This in itself could serve as a warning to any corporates who do not heed the FCA’s letter and treat customers fairly.

Even though the regulator’s powers may be limited at present, if they are not satisfied by the actions of lenders during this time, they will be more likely to step up their oversight.

This could come in the form of enhanced regulation and stricter rules in the future.

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