Gill Davidson, group regulatory director of Tenet, says she believe further enforcement on ‘pay to play’ deals is unlikely and that the fine handed down to Sesame this autumn would prompt other firms to “fall into line”.
Speaking to FTAdviser in the second of a two-part video series, Ms Davidson said there may be some intermediaries, but hopefully not too many, who may be having to review their position in light of Sesame Bankhall’s £1.6m pay-to-play fine.
In October, Sesame Bankhall received the fourth fine in a decade for so-called ‘pay-for-play’ deals demanded in order for providers to feature on its restricted product panels, launched in 2012.
When the FCA published the findings of its inducements rules review in September 2013, it confirmed two firms had been referred to enforcement, one provider and one adviser.
It was later confirmed that the provider was annuity specialist Partnership, which was one of a number of the firms on Sesame’s panel. The probe into Partnership was dropped earlier in the same week that Sesame was fined.
In the latest FTAdviser video interview, Tenet’s head of regulation notes how ‘quiet’ the regulator has gone on further enforcement, intimating that the Sesame fine could be representative of a tactic on the part of the watchdog to set one example for others to follow.
Ms Davidson said: “I think the FCA, and their predecessor the FSA, have been very consistent in their approach.
“Often the tactic of the regulator is they will go for one and they know the rest will fall into line.”
She also talks to FTAdviser’s Emma Ann Hughes about the way mortgage lenders are interpreting the Mortgage Market Review and the way advisers should review the way they do business in light of the greater pension freedoms set to come in from April 2015.
emma.hughes@ft.com
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