Consumer Duty
The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new Consumer Principle, which came into effect on 31st July 2023, seeks to ensure regulated firms deliver good outcomes for retail customers. At UBL UK, our customers are at the heart of everything we do. In line with the FCA’s Consumer Duty regulations, we are dedicated to ensuring that we act in the best interests of our customers and our products and services deliver good customer outcomes.
Our Commitment to You
The FCA’s Consumer Duty focuses on a higher standard of consumer protection across financial services, requiring firms to act in the best interests of their customers. In adherence to Consumer Duty, we are fully committed to the following:
• Acting in Good Faith: Fairness and integrity lies at the forefront of UBL UK’s core values. We consistently strive to be transparent in all our dealings, ensuring customers have accurate and complete information needed to make informed financial decisions.
• Avoiding Foreseeable Harm: We proactively assess and mitigate potential risks associated with our products and services to prevent any potential harm to our customers.
• Supporting Customers to Reach Their Financial Objectives: We provide customer support and resources to help our customers achieve their financial goals, offering a variety of products and services tailored to meet your needs.
How We Deliver on This Commitment
To uphold the principles of the Consumer Duty, we focus on the following key outcomes:
1. Products and Services: We design, offer and distribute products and services that are suitable for our target customer base, ensuring that they meet the needs and objectives of our customers and provide good outcomes.
2. Price and Value: We undertake a Fair Value assessment on an annual basis in line with our Fair Value Framework for all our products and services to ensure that the price our customers pay for a product or service is reasonable compared to the overall benefits of the product / service.
3. Consumer Understanding: We strive to ensure that customers receive clear, accurate, and timely information to make informed decisions. We undertake assessments internally which are focused on evaluating the effectiveness and understanding of communications across various channels and their alignment with customer needs and characteristics including those with characteristics of vulnerabilities.
4. Customer Support: UBL UK is committed to providing inclusive and accessible support for all customers, including those with characteristics of vulnerabilities. We continuously assess the usability of our products and services, identifying and addressing any barriers that could impact informed decision-making or lead to potential harm. To reinforce this commitment, we conduct comprehensive bank-wide training for all staff, including our senior management and board, ensuring a customer-focused approach at every level.
Further Materials
More detail on the changes that Consumer Duty will bring can be found within the FCA’s website, which you can access below.
https://www.fca.org.uk/news/news-stories/consumer-duty-higher-standards-financial-services