The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its priorities under Consumer Duty for 2025/2026. The regulator makes it clear that the Duty remains a priority for its work and is relying on the Duty as much as possible rather than creating new prescriptive rules.
The FCA has set out priority areas along with a programme of action to simplify its requirements, give more flexibility, predictability and improved efficiency for firms.
It has outlined four cross-cutting projects between now and end of 2026:
- Review of products and services outcome – How firms are designing products and services to meet customer needs, including those with characteristics of vulnerability.
- Review of firms’ approaches to outcomes monitoring – How firms are responding to outcomes monitoring requirements.
- Review of firms’ customer journey design – Looking at the design and delivery of firms’ customer journeys to ensure customers’ needs are met, with a particular focus on how firms apply friction throughout the journey.
- Review of the consumer understanding outcome – How firms’ communications are helping consumers make informed decisions.
The regulator has also outlined plans for joint engagement with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to provide further clarity on the interaction between vulnerability, data sharing and data protection expectations in Q1 2026.
Questions can be sent to [email protected].
More information on the FCA website: Our Consumer Duty focus areas | FCA.
Members will hear from the FCA as part of the BVRLA’s Leasing Broker Conference this Thursday. A small number of spaces are available via leasingbrokerconference.co.uk.
