A consultation on a potential long-stop for financial advisers may be held in the Autumn, according to Chris Hannant.
The director general of Apfa, who met with the FCA on 29 June to discuss the regulator’s work on the issue, said the City watchdog was “making progress” on its internal investigations into whether a long-stop would be viable.
Mr Hannant said he was satisfied with the steps being taken by the regulator.
He said: “I am looking forward to seeing the results when they are published, which is likely to be in the Autumn now.
“The regulator is making progress and it is interesting to see what the team is doing.”
A spokesman for life and pension fund provider Zurich, which has been working with Apfa on ways to limit the liability on financial advice, said: “We are continuing to work closely with Apfa to ensure that a solution is found that will mitigate the challenges facing advisers as a result of unlimited liability.”
In May, the FCA said it was committed to considering the case for a time limit on complaints to Fos. The regulator has been considering whether the current arrangements are working in the best interests of consumers, and it is expected to publish a paper on this issue during 2015.
Long-stop discussions were put on hold last year because of the FCA’s concerns about its possible incompatibility with the Alternative Dispute Resolution Directive, which aims to enable consumers and traders to resolve disputes without court action.
In December, the FCA said it would look to implement the ADR directive in a way that would not prevent a long-stop from being introduced.
A spokesman for the FCA confirmed the regulator would publish its opinion on the long-stop in the Autumn.
He said: “It is right that we complete work before we come to a view and comment further.”
Adviser view
Scot Gallacher, a financial adviser with Leicestershire-based Rowley Turton, said: “At the moment it is so biased against financial advisers that it is a detriment to recruiting people to the profession.”
