The future of local banking services and access to cash
An overview of policy relating to the closure of bank and building society branches and to efforts to protect access to cash.

The UK's Senior Managers and Certification Regime was introduced as part of post-financial crisis reforms to drive up standards in people working in financial services. This note explains the regime's history, content and impact.
Executive accountability in financial services: the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (679 KB , PDF)
UK financial services firms are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and sometimes the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) too.
Individual accountability regimes focus on the people who manage these firms, ensuring they are fit and proper to do their jobs.
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 introduced the Approved Persons Regime (APR). This required the regulator to pre-vet candidates for senior management positions in financial services firms like banks.
Following the financial crisis and revelations of LIBOR-rigging, the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards was established in July 2012, with then-Conservative MP Andrew Tyrie as Chair, to advise on reform of the banking sector.
The Commission criticised the small number of enforcement cases brought under the APR, concluding that the APR was a “complex and confused mess”. It recommended replacing the APR with a three-pillar approach comprising pre-vetting of senior managers, internal certification of other high-risk roles, and reform of the public register of approved persons, which only contained limited information.
The Coalition Government accepted the Commission’s proposals and introduced the regime in the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013. In brief, this regime, known as the Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SM&CR), comprises:
The SM&CR was introduced to the banking industry from March 2016. It was extended to insurers in December 2018, and to the bulk of the remainder of the roughly 60,000 FCA-regulated financial services firms in December 2019.
Initial reviews of the effectiveness of the regime by the FCA and PRA concluded that the SM&CR was having a positive culture change in firms, although more time and work was needed to embed the regime. In adopting the SM&CR, the PRA described the UK as a world leader in individual accountability.
As of September 2020, however – over four years after the regime was first introduced – the regulators had only successfully enforced the regime on one occasion, by imposing a fine in May 2018 against the group Chief Executive of Barclays, James Staley. This has led to early concerns over whether the new regime is fit for purpose.
Executive accountability in financial services: the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (679 KB , PDF)
An overview of policy relating to the closure of bank and building society branches and to efforts to protect access to cash.
An overview of current and past approaches to helping homeowners with mortgage debt, including information on trends in arrears and repossessions.
In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Western allies and other partners across the globe have imposed an unprecedented package of coordinated sanctions against Russia.