On 9 December 2019, the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) was extended to all financial services businesses regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The extension increased the scope of regulations that were introduced in 2016 for certain banking firms and building societies.
The SMCR strengthens the integrity of the financial services market by improving the sense of personal responsibility among those who work in the sector, and by making sure firms clearly understand and can evidence who does what in their organisation, and how decisions have been made.
The SMCR requires firms to deal with large amounts of new documentation, as well as update systems and processes. This impacts HR teams and people managers in particular because the changes affect how they recruit, screen, manage and develop a significant proportion of their employees. They will need a far more accurate understanding of managers’ and employees’ responsibilities, will need to ensure that staff have the right skills and attributes to conduct their role, and must make sure their processes and digital systems can support this.
Download our guide and learn about the finer details of the SMCR.