The Consumer Duty journey
2023 was the year for Consumer Duty, however, the FCA has made it clear that there is still more for firms to do. This shows that 2023 was very much the start - not the end for firms. Therefore, we see 2024 being as busy for firms as they continue their Consumer Duty journey. We see activity split into three pillars:
1) Meeting regulatory expectations
While some firms are still finalising the implementation of open products to move to full compliance, firms must also produce the annual board papers and review and upgrade requirements for any legacy products by July. Firms must ensure that the focus remains on finalising compliance readiness and evidencing meeting regulatory expectations.
2) Embedding Consumer Duty into BAU practices
Following a period of implementation at pace, firms must embed the Duty into their BAU practices by integrating into their operating model, including considering how technology and tooling can maximise efficiency and effectiveness in a sustainable way.
3) Leveraging Consumer Duty to drive value and commercial benefit
Firms must see the Duty as an enabler to reimagine their strategy, business model and propositions to look at different ways of designing and delivering products and services to generate good customer outcomes.
Here at KPMG, we offer a wide range of solutions to support firms on their Consumer Duty journey - from benchmarking of price and fair value, customer communications and outcomes testing, assurance reviews, and board report design and delivery, through to deploying technology and tooling solutions, realisation of strategic and cultural change and customer-led growth. If you would like to discuss what it means for your organisation, please get in touch.
