Background

On 30 January 2024, the Bank of England published PS1/24 The Bank of England's approach to enforcement. PS1/24 provides feedback to CP9/23 and also contains the Bank’s final policy, as follows:

• the Bank of England’s approach to enforcement: statements of policy and procedures (the Bank Enforcement Approach) (Appendix 1), incorporating:
  • amendments to The Prudential Regulation Authority’s (PRA) approach to enforcement: statutory statements of policy and procedure (PRA Enforcement Approach); and
  • a consolidation of new or updated statements of policies and procedures relevant to financial market infrastructures (FMIs) into The Bank’s approach to enforcement in respect of FMIs: statements of policy and procedure (FMI Enforcement Approach);
• amendments to the PRA’s allocation of decision-making and approach to supervisory decisions (the PRA Supervisory Decision-Making Policy) (Appendix 2); and
• amendments to the Enforcement Decision Making Committee (EDMC) Procedures (Appendix 3).

Background

On 4 May 2023, the Bank of England published CP9/23. 

CP9/23 proposes changes to the Bank of England (the Bank) and the Prudential Regulation Authority’s (PRA) enforcement policies and procedures, the PRA’s policies and procedures for making supervisory and non-enforcement statutory notice decisions, and to the procedures of the Enforcement Decision Making Committee (EDMC).

CP9/23 sets out the Bank’s and the PRA’s proposed amendments to:

• the PRA’s approach to enforcement: statutory statements of policy and procedure (the PRA Enforcement Approach Document);

• the statement of policy for financial penalties imposed by the Bank under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 or under Part 5 of the Banking Act 2009 (the Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) Penalty Policy);

• the Bank’s statutory statements of procedure in respect of the Bank’s supervision of financial market infrastructures (the FMI Procedures); and

• the EDMC Procedures.

The Bank and the PRA propose creating a consolidated set of statements of policy (SoPs) entitled ‘The Bank of England’s approach to enforcement: statements of policy and procedure’ (the Bank Enforcement Approach).

The PRA also proposes creating a new separate SoP entitled ‘The PRA’s allocation of decision-making and approach to supervisory decisions’ (the PRA Supervisory Decision-Making Policy).

The proposed amendments seek to:

• clarify the scope of the Bank’s enforcement powers by creating a document that draws together the Bank’s existing enforcement policies and procedures into one consolidated document – the Bank Enforcement Approach;

• move those sections of the current PRA Enforcement Approach Document which relate to the use of statutory tools other than enforcement powers into the proposed PRA Supervisory Decision-Making Policy;

• make specific and consequential amendments to policies and procedures relating to the PRA Enforcement Approach Document to further incentivise cooperation by subjects under investigation;

• clarify the approach and procedures the Bank would adopt in FMI enforcement investigations;

• set out in the new PRA Supervisory Decision-Making Policy revised policies which ensure operational efficiency and better advance the PRA’s statutory objectives;

• update the EDMC remit to include various enforcement powers available to the PRA and/or the Bank under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA); and

• clarify the EDMC Procedures to reflect how the procedures have operated in practice and clarify the roles and responsibilities of the EDMC, in light of practical experience of the EDMC in dealing with cases.

The Bank (including in its capacity as the PRA) is making these amendments to clarify the scope of its decision-making and more clearly distinguish between enforcement powers and non-enforcement regulatory action.

Our brief response to CP9/23 is set out below - 

CP9/23 The Bank of England's approach to enforcement: proposed changes and clarifications - BSA Response

Introduction

The BSA represents all 42 building societies, as well as 7 larger credit unions. Building societies serve almost 26 million consumers across the UK and have total assets of nearly £500 billion. Together with their subsidiaries, they have helped over 3.6 million families and individuals to buy a home with mortgages totalling over £366 billion, representing 23% of total mortgage balances outstanding in the UK. They are also helping over 23 million people build their financial resilience, holding over £342 billion of retail savings, accounting for 18% of all cash savings in the UK. With all of their headquarters outside London, building societies employ more than 51,500 full and part-time staff.

The BSA welcomes the opportunity to respond to CP9/23.

Our response

We note the Bank of England and PRA’s proposals in CP 9/23 are not introducing or changing rules, but instead are designed to increase regulatory transparency for firms and individuals. We also note that the Bank of England and PRA believe the associated costs for firms (including building societies) impacted by the proposals are likely to minimal or none. Accordingly, our response to this consultation is short.

The BSA has no objection to the proposals to create a consolidated set of statements of policy and the creation of a new separate statement of policy for the PRA. We support the aim of increasing regulatory transparency and the other benefits envisaged in the consultation paper. We do not believe the proposals are likely to impact persons who share protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.