Preparing for the Consumer Duty
We helped Leeds Building Society prepare for the introduction of the FCA's Consumer Duty - carrying out a 360 assessment of the firm's mortgage business.
The Challenge
Leeds Building Society wanted Fairer Finance to conduct a thorough assessment of its mortgage business, in anticipation of the incoming Consumer Duty regulations from the FCA. These regulations hold firms responsible for delivering fair value and good customer outcomes. Firms will also be expected to prove they’re meeting these requirements.
The Process
This is where Fairer Finance stepped in. Our deep-dive assessment looks to evidence that a firm is offering both fair value and good outcomes for customers.
We organised our feedback under the four outcomes of the Consumer Duty: Products and Services, Price and Value, Consumer Understanding and Consumer Support.
Fairer Finance asked LBS to send over a selection of MI, customer communications and other product data. Our analysis covered product governance processes, customer letters and onboarding journeys, pricing information, customer service data and complaints data both internally and from the FOS.
We approached Fairer Finance because we wanted credible, independent validation of how we were performing against the upcoming Consumer Duty rules. Fairer Finance’s approach was thorough, and the feedback was detailed and actionable. It’s put us in good shape to be ready for the new regulations, and provided real reassurance for our senior leaders that we’re well set to embrace the new rules rather than fear them.
Matt Bartle
Director of Products
We also used our own polling and mystery shopping data to inform our assessment. And we spent time collecting information about the product from LBS’s website and looked at external review sites to gain an understanding of the firm from customer and employee perspectives.
The Consumer Duty requirements underline the importance of continuous improvement within firms. For this reason, it was necessary to get an idea of how LBS approaches internal development and reviews. To do this, we interviewed a range of leads in the product governance, pricing, customer service, complaints, vulnerable customers and collections teams.
As well as looking for compliance against FCA rules, we also measure firms against levels of better and best practice.
After collating all this information, we compiled our conclusions into a presentation – providing actionable and constructive feedback.
Let's work together
If you'd like to discover more about how Fairer Finance can help you meet your Consumer Duty requirements, get in touch today.