FCA fines Standard Life Assurance £31m for non-advised annuity sales failures

SLA did not dispute the FCA's findings, which meant it qualified for a 30% discount on a fine that would otherwise have been £43,989,300. The FCA said SLA failed to put in place adequate controls to monitor the quality of the calls between its call-handlers and non-advised customers. At the same time, the life and pensions giant offered its frontline staff financial incentives to sell annuities, which the FCA said encouraged them to put their own financial interests ahead of their customers. During the period of misconduct, more than a fifth (22%) of call-handlers received more than 1...