Consumer Duty board reports: Everybody needs a friend – especially smaller firms

If I were to describe someone as a critical friend you might think they were the sort of person who tells you when a shirt's really not your colour, or that one more glass of wine is probably not the best idea if you want to get up early in the morning. If you're the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), though, a critical friend could be a small firm's best ally in complying with Consumer Duty. The phrase ‘the burden of regulation' is used to describe the costs and challenges of complying with the ever-expanding FCA Handbook. Yet it's not one that gets much traction within the regulator...