There are around 500 credit unions and financial co-operatives owned by their members in the UK and Northern Ireland that are dual regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The regulatory requirements for these entities are onerous and include some of the following regulatory requirements: the Approved Persons regime (including the Senior Managers and Certification Regime); the Credit Union Sourcebooks; PRA/FCA prudential and conduct of business rules and guidance under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000; the Credit Unions Act 1979 and the Co-operatives and Community Benefits Societies Act 2014; the Credit Unions (Northern Ireland) Order 1985; and the Single Customer View and consumer credit regulations.
The PKF specialist team understands the regulatory requirements of all key stakeholders and will provide your management, board and members with the assurance they require on their regulatory obligations. Given the importance of this sector, we stay up to date with emerging developments and the high level of experience within our team ensures we provide our clients with a value added service that meets all their requirements.
In the current challenging climate, it is important that your business is operationally resilient and adaptable to the regulatory requirements including solvency issues. There are several regulatory obligations placed on deposit taking institutions such as credit unions, and the PKF specialist team has an in-depth appreciation of these requirements.
Our team has extensive knowledge of forensic investigations and regulatory enforcement and insolvency related actions within the wider financial services industry. We advise credit unions on their regulatory obligations including assessing a firm’s solvency position including its capital adequacy, reviewing credit risk and controls over loans, monitoring of bad debts/provisioning, and assessing the systems and controls in place to monitor the financial position and identify fraud risk. We also advise on regulatory enforcement actions against key firms and individuals holding controlled functions, including the options available to regulated entities facing solvency issues.
