Tel: 0203 9520422 - Mail: ceo@fcasure.com - Eng. Company No.: 4337980
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Obtaining FCA Licence.

Authorisation Services at a Glance

We Understand What It Takes

Our expert service dealing in compliance, risk and regulation matters across the European and international financial services markets includes assisting our clients to obtain licences from the FCA or other regulators to lawfully be able to provide financial services in key markets. We also assist your firm with preparing applications for:

  • Change in Control
  • Variation of Permissions
  • Passporting Applications
  • Approved Persons

Obtaining FCA permission to operate your business

If undertaking regulated financial services in Europe, you will need authorisation to do so from the relevant Regulator.

Should you need to proceed with FCA authorisation, then we can assist you through what may feel like a complex process, enabling you to benefit from our specialist knowledge. Our vast experience can help you to ensure that particular questions the FCA expects answers to have been effectively addressed, as well as assisting in helping you with the questions that will arise throughout the process. We aim to ensure that your FCA authorisation process runs as smoothly as possible and an application completed correctly can lead to authorisation quicker than you may think.

We assist many firms each year to become authorised. We understand what the regulator expects from an application and we help our clients to meet and demonstrate those standards. Unlike many of our competitors, we deal with all aspects of the FCA authorisation application and our fee quote is comprehensive and includes assistance with preparation of financial forecasts, Regulatory business plan, ICAAP and Business Continuity Plan.

We also have access to strong candidates who will strengthen the governance over your business, increase the chances of success of your application and may even be prepared to work at significantly below full salary for the period between application and authorisation.

Our team has a successful track record in preparing firm applications for FCA authorisation and ensuring a smooth approvals process. We tailor our approach to each individual client to ensure your firm’s application fulfills FCA requirements and provides you with a workable compliance solution within your business.

Our experience in preparing firms for authorisation is extensive and types of firms we have assisted include:

  • FX/CFD/Derivatives market makers, matched principal brokers
  • Lenders
  • Fund managers
  • Brokers/ Private Equity & Corporate finance firms
  • Insurance firms

FCA Compliance Consultant’s authorisation services

Advice and Scoping
  • Assessing whether authorisation is the right route for you
  • Assisting you in confirming the regulated activities you wish to undertake
  • Advising impact of activities on capital requirements and regulatory obligations
  • Identifying risk areas and helping you to mitigate these
Application Pack
  • Identifying and preparing forms required for your application
  • Assisting you in preparing associated documents
Regulatory business plan
  • Reviewing your proposed plan and identifying gaps or risk areas
  • Enhancing your business plan to meet the Regulator’s expectations
  • Assisting you in communicating your plan correctly
Financial Projections
  • Assisting in the preparation and presentation of financial projections
  • Documenting how you will meet the initial and ongoing capital requirements
Employees and owners
  • Guiding individuals on presenting themselves as appropriate for their proposed role
  • Detailing ownership structure and assisting relevant persons to prepare Controller forms
  • Queries
    • Helping you to deal with any follow-up queries from the FCA
    Compliance framework
    • Developing tailored compliance procedures to support your regulated activities
    • Providing a monitoring plan for ongoing compliance checks
    Training
    • Firm-wide training to prepare staff for the new obligations on them and the company
    • Compliance officer, money laundering reporting office and board member training

    We tailor our service to each client’s needs, supporting you, as you require.

    Consumer Credit including Crowd Funding, Peer to Peer Lending

    The deadline in which to register for an interim permission with the FCA has now passed (31st March 2014). Firms who either failed to register for interim permission by the deadline, or need to alter their interim permission can apply for direct authorisation from the FCA from the 1st April 2014.

    Directly authorised firms that wish to increase their permissions to include consumer credit activities can apply to the FCA for a Variation of Permission (VoP).

    This can be a complex and time consuming process, especially for firm’s new to the FCA’s regulatory approach and our experience of managing a large number of FCA authorisations suggests that a well thought through application leads to a much faster and generally hassle free conclusion.

    Obtaining authorisation overseas

    We aim to manage your overseas regulatory application (e.g. CySEC in Cyprus, MFSA in Malta, ASIC in Australia, CSSF in Luxembourg etc) thoroughly and professionally setting out the project plan at the outset and keeping you up to date with all the milestones and timelines involved. Our services include:

    • Analysis of regulatory requirements relevant to your business
    • Advice on permissions required
    • Advice on corporate governance, systems and controls
    • Liaising with your other advisers and with the regulator
    • Project managing your firm’s application

    Obtaining EU passports E

    For FCA authorised firms seeking to offer their services from their UK offices to clients in any of the other 29 EEA member states (under the Market in Financial Instruments Directive, MiFID, or other relevant EU Directives) or seeking to set up a physical operation in any of the countries below we offer low cost and prompt solutions.

    The same applies to financial services companies from any of these countries seeking to similarly expand into any or all of these regions or the UK. The EU countries are as follows:

    Germany
    France
    Italy
    Sweden
    Netherlands
    Spain
    Denmark
    Luxembourg
    Austria
    Ireland
    Norway
    Belgium
    Cyprus
    Malta
    Portugal
    Finland
    Hungary
    Czech Republic
    Poland
    Liechtenstein
    Latvia
    Iceland
    Greece
    Estonia
    Croatia
    Lithuania
    Romania
    Bulgaria
    Slovak Republic
    Slovenia

    Enhancing your Permissions

    If as a result of growth or new opportunities, you need to enhance your range of activities for any of the following, we can assist you to promptly and cost effectively apply for any of any of the following potential growth areas:

    • new instruments for existing permissions (e.g. spread bets, CFDs),
    • new permissions (e.g. dealing in investments as principal, removing the matched principal limitation),
    • adding a new permitted customer type (e,.g. retail)
    • changing client money arrangements

    Acquisition and Control Approval

    We offer a complete FCA Application project management service and our specialist team in also assists with associated transactions, such as take-overs, which are subject to the requirement that a controlling stake in a UK FCA authorised company (typically defined as 10% of the issued voting share capital) cannot be acquired without FCA approval.

    We will assist you to prepare the required documentation to make this application for FCA approval.

    Appointed Representatives

    By becoming an Appointed Representative, a firm is able to carry on certain regulated activities, under a contract with a firm which holds the permissions the firm requires, and which accepts responsibility for the regulated activities carried out by its Appointed Representative(s). This avoids the need for the firm concerned to obtain direct authorisation from the FCA.

    We ensure the process of becoming an Appointed Representative is thorough but speedy; our experience having allowed us to develop a detailed and efficient process to allow us to act quickly to assess your firm’s suitability, including undertaking the necessary due diligence to make sure your key people are fit and proper.

    Adding executives

    Appointments of anyone carrying out an FCA controlled function (such as directors, compliance officers, CASS Oversight officers etc) are subject to the requirement that a person may not carry out any such controlled function in a UK FCA authorised company without prior FCA approval.

    We will assist you to prepare the required documentation to make this application for FCA approval.
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