The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates over 50,000 organisations and runs hundreds of thousands of FCA compliance screening checks on individuals each year. Here is a comprehensive guide to employment screening for the finance industry:

Employment Screening Compliance with FCA Regulations

In order to hold a position of responsibility and become an ‘approved person’ at a financial firm, an individual should know and meet the FCA’s regulatory requirements.

As part of this, they will be expected to meet a ‘fit and proper’ test, comply with the Statements of Principle and Code of Practice, as well as report any information which could affect their suitability as part of FCA screening tests. Therefore, when hiring, an employer will have access to employment screening as an FCA check includes it.

An individual’s propriety will be judged on their honesty, competence, capability and financial soundness which is assessed through financial checks. Due diligence should also be done before submitting an application for FCA background checks. As part of this, a collection of multiple background checks run in accordance with the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 must be completed. These checks may include:

• Financial checks, such as a credit report and analysis of any CCJs or declared bankruptcies
• ID validation
• 5 years’ worth of employment validation and gap analysis
• Highest qualification verification
• DBS check
• FCA register validation search and disciplinary validation
• UK directorship and disqualifications check

As multiple checks are done, this can take weeks or even months to complete. Here at CBS we offer a turnaround time of between 5 and 32 days.

Who is Required to Have FCA Screening?

FCA criminal record checks are primarily focused on the financial sector, including banks, building societies and credit unions; however, these checks aren’t restricted to these organisations. Any persons working for the following organisations may be required to have FCA  background checks before being recruited:

• Consumer credit firms
• Payments service institutions
• E-money firms
• Insurance companies
• Home finance providers
• Financial investment organisations or advisers
• Co-operative societies
• Sale and rent back firms
• Community benefit societies
• Working men’s clubs
• Retail intermediaries
• Companies who provide regulated organisations with products or services, such as, software providers, call centres, recruitment agencies and building or maintenance firms.

FCA screening is required for anyone who is an ‘approved person’ working in a controlled function role. It is not relevant for all employees working for an FCA regulated organisation (listed above), instead screening is enforced on an individual basis referencing the career role the person intends on taking.

This includes positions such as, insurance providers, financial and retail advisers or anyone who conducts any of the following tasks on a regular basis:

• Accepts deposits
• Enters into, arranges and administers a regulated mortgage contract
• Affects or carries out contracts of insurance
• Any other regulated activities listed in the Financial Services and Markets Act (2000) or later amendments

Apply for FCA Screening with CBS

Thanks to our bespoke screening solutions we can offer our clients a custom checking process that meets each organisations’ specific needs. So, if you’d like to learn more about FCA background screening for individuals or organisations, get in touch today.