Firms will benefit from reduced costs and greater flexibility, and find it easier to comply with the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR), following reforms set out on 22 April by the FCA and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
The changes, which come as the first phase of a multi-stage package of reform from the Government and regulators, will maintain the core principle of senior ...
The strongest version of this narrative presents the reforms as a pragmatic effort to reduce regulatory friction without sacrificing accountability. The FCA and PRA highlight efficiency gains—such as faster application processing and reduced certification roles—as evidence of a well-functioning system being fine-tuned. The Government’s framing aligns with a broader push for "proportionate" regulation, positioning the UK as a competitive yet responsible financial hub. However, the pattern of emph...