The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has reviewed its 2019 rules for SME access to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), to assess whether the rules should be further extended to larger SMEs.
The current thresholds provide access to the Ombudsman to more than 99% of the 5.6 million private sector businesses in the UK. The FCA has decided this level of coverage remains appropriate and that it would not be proportionate to extend access to larger SMEs.
The FCA defines a small business as one that:
a. is not a micro-enterprise
b. has an annual turnover of less than £6.5m (or its equivalent in any other currency); and
i. employs fewer than 50 people; or
ii. has a balance sheet total of less than £5m (or its equivalent in any other currency).
Read the full findings from the review on the FCA website.
