The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has extended the maximum period firms can arrange cover for a senior manager without being approved, from 12 weeks to 36 weeks, in a consecutive 12-month period.
The modification by consent to rules SUP10.3.13 and SYSC 24.1.2 is open to all solo regulated firms and aims to provide flexibility for governance arrangements during the Coronavirus pandemic. It also allows firms to allocate an absent senior manager’s prescribed responsibilities to the individual covering the role.
Firms can use the modification by consent if they think they may need to make or extend temporary arrangements to cover absences as a result of the pandemic, for example, if a senior manager is absent, or if recruitment to replace a senior manager has been delayed. Firms can also apply for the modification by consent as a precautionary measure, in advance of them needing it.
More information and for how firms can apply for this modification can be found on the FCA’s website. A list of firms that have been granted the modification by consent will also be published on the FCA’s website.
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