3.3 Fair Treatment
The dictionary describes fair as being without cheating or trying to achieve an unjust advantage. It is clear that customers won’t feel confident to buy a product if they feel that they are being cheated or at a disadvantage especially where information is concerned. In essence customers buy financial products to protect themselves from risk […]
3.2 Confident Customers
Creating confidence is key to a sustainable and successful financial services industry. You won’t buy a product from a supermarket if you are not confident that the product is what it said it is. The same is with financial products. If customers lose confidence in one part of the sector it will affect the whole […]
3.1 Introduction TCF
Outcome 1 states that: Customers can be confident that they are dealing with businesses where the fair treatment of customers is central to the corporate culture. When we dissect the first outcome, there is three key phrases that can be identified, and each justifies separate explanation. The key phrases here are confident customers, fair treatment […]
2.4 Enforcement Measures
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority do not only develop and monitor the TCF framework, but also enforces adherence to the framework. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority states that it will first negotiate any corrective action by engaging with the financial services provider’s senior management. Where this fails or where the Financial Sector Conduct Authority considers […]
2.3 Disclosure and Reporting of Identified TCF Performance Measures
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority enforces delivery of the TCF outcomes by imposing comprehensive and rigorous disclosure and reporting requirements. Requirements include public and non-public disclosure of identified TCF performance measures. A. Public disclosure of identified TCF performance measures Items which financial services providers will be required to disclose publicly very soon include but are […]
2.2 Measurement
For the TCF initiative to be successful, financial services providers must be in a position to provide objective evidence that they are treating their customers fairly and have embedded TCF in their organisational culture. Measurement must be done by employing management information mechanisms that will monitor the level of adherence to TCF as well as […]
2.1 Introduction TCF
Although the implementation of TCF is guided by the six broad fairness outcomes; clear, enforceable rules and regulations must also be in place to ensure that these outcomes are achieved. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority has developed a regulatory framework that effectively balance principles-based and rules-based regulation to ensure that financial services providers deliver the […]
1.9 Stakeholder’s Priority and Shared Responsibilities in Terms of TCF
TCF requires product suppliers, financial services providers and representatives to share accountability for fair treatment of their mutual customers. From a risk-based perspective, the culture and governance dimensions will require particular attention by larger financial services providers. The primary responsibility for delivering TCF outcomes 2, 5 and 6 (the outcomes related to appropriate product and […]
1.8 TCF and Existing FAIS Responsibilities
Clearly, the FAIS Act and Code of Conducts already impose extensive obligations on financial services providers and their representatives that are relevant to the TCF fairness outcomes. In particular, representatives’ delivery of fairness outcomes 3 (clear information) and 4 (suitable advice) is to a large extent driven by the disclosure, advice, conflict of interest and […]
1.7 The Scope of TCF
The TCF initiative specifically relates to products marketed and sold in the retail market. The retail market implies customers that would typically be vulnerable to unfair treatment as a result of having unfair bargaining power and asymmetrical access to information, as compared to financial companies. As such, it is not limited only to protection of […]