Opinion

New blog series: deep dive into the FCA and PRA proposals for D&I in financial services

Published Date
Oct 25 2023
The UK financial services regulators are setting out to move the dial when it comes to diversity and inclusion (D&I) in the financial services sector. D&I strategies, targets and disclosures are all included in their new proposals in this area, so too are proposals to clarify the regulatory rules applicable to non-financial misconduct and action that might be taken in relation to it.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) are each consulting on proposals to introduce a new regulatory framework on D&I in the financial services sector.

The proposals are wide-ranging with significant implications for firms and individuals. They go beyond requiring firms to report on and improve diversity, to consider specific issues such as the regulation of non-financial misconduct (eg bullying and harassment) and monitoring the development of an inclusive culture.

Join us for a deep dive into the individual components of the regulators’ proposals, in which we will consider what it means for firms, individuals, people managers, boards and risk and compliance functions.  We will be summarising the proposals, considering how firms can best prepare, highlighting potential challenges and considering the “grey areas”.

Our series of blog posts on this topic will focus on the following aspects of the regulators’ proposals.

  1. Overarching themes and trends
  2. Which firms are caught by the proposals and how
  3. D&I strategies
  4. Setting of D&I targets
  5. D&I disclosure requirements
  6. Data privacy considerations
  7. Inclusion
  8. Non-financial misconduct
  9. Senior manager oversight
  10. Governance
  11. Risk management and control

This series of blog posts draws on the combined expertise and insights of lawyers in our employment, regulatory investigations and data protection teams, as well as experts in our strategic regulatory consulting business, to provide a considered review of the proposals and what it means for firms operating in the UK financial services sector.

Content Disclaimer

This content was originally published by Allen & Overy before the A&O Shearman merger