INSIGHTS ¦ PS24/3 Consumer Credit – Product Sales Data Reporting

FCA

Summary

The policy statement PS24/3 outlines new regulations for consumer credit firms regarding Product Sales Data (PSD) reporting. These regulations are aimed at improving the supervision and monitoring of the consumer credit market by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), enhancing data collection, and thus preventing harm to consumers.

Key Points

  • The FCA is introducing three new PSD returns: Sales PSD, Performance PSD, and Back book PSD.
  • The new rules will affect firms engaged in consumer credit lending and those providing related advisory and software services.
  • These returns are designed to provide the FCA with detailed, granular data to better understand market operations and firm performance.
  • The feedback from the consultation has led to adjustments in the rules, particularly raising the threshold for firms required to report from £500K to £2M to reduce the burden on smaller firms.
  • An extended implementation period has been set to allow firms sufficient time to adapt to new reporting requirements.
  • The PSD data collection aims to advance FCA’s operational objectives, including consumer protection and market integrity.
  • The implementation process includes specific timelines for both large and small firms, based on their market activities.
  • Changes in data collection aim to reduce the need for ad hoc data requests and thus decrease the operational burden on firms.
  • Detailed consultations and feedback mechanisms are ongoing to refine the data elements and ensure clarity in reporting requirements.

Key Statistics

  • The threshold for firms to report PSD has been increased from £500K to £2M.
  • Approximately 444 firms are in scope following the updated threshold, including 33 large, 97 medium, and 314 small firms.
  • Implementation costs are estimated between £43M to £76M for initial set-up across all firms.
  • Ongoing costs for reporting are estimated at £1.9M annually for the entire industry.
  • The anticipated market coverage of firms reporting under the new rules exceeds 90% for most major consumer credit products.
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Key Takeaways

  • The FCA’s move towards more detailed and frequent data reporting aims to enhance its ability to monitor and intervene in the consumer credit market more effectively.
  • Raising the reporting threshold and extending deadlines are significant adjustments following stakeholder feedback, aimed at easing the transition for firms, especially smaller entities.
  • The detailed and granular data required under the new PSD returns will allow the FCA to better understand consumer outcomes and firm compliance with market standards.
  • By reducing the reliance on ad hoc data requests, the FCA expects to lower operational costs for both the regulator and the firms over time.
  • Continuous engagement and feedback from industry stakeholders remain crucial to refining the implementation of the new reporting standards.
  • Firms must now focus on adapting their systems and processes to comply with the new PSD reporting requirements within the newly extended timelines.
  • The overall strategy is geared towards fostering a more transparent, competitive, and consumer-friendly market environment.

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