PRA briefing on the Senior Managers Regime

On 16 October, the PRA held a briefing for professional services firms following the publication of final rules and guidance on the Senior Managers and Certification (SM & CR) regimes in the summer.

 The session summarised the PRA’s SM & CR requirements and the steps that PRA regulated firms and the PRA need to take in order to implement the new regimes from 7 March 2016.

Key points emphasised by the PRA during the session can be summarized as follows:

1. The PRA are keen to stress that the SM & CR is a supervisory framework and not an enforcement regime. The SMR aims to establish effective supervisory outcomes governance in line with the PRA's general objective to promote the safety and soundness of firms it regulates.  The PRA underlined  that it is rare to find prudential issues or bank failings that cannot be traced back to an issue with governance.

2. One of the key points arising from the HM Treasury