Commentary on Sections Part 3: Access to Services etc Bank accounts Section 41: Regulation by Financial Conduct Authority
196.Subsection (1) provides that the Treasury may make regulations to enable the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to make arrangements for monitoring and enforcing compliance with the prohibition imposed on banks and building societies by section 40. The regulations are subject to the affirmative resolution procedure (see section 74(2)).
197.The regulations may make provisions for the FCA to be given free access to the information held by the anti-fraud organisation or data-matching authority specified for the purposes of section 40 which is accessed by banks and building societies (subsection (2)(a)). Such access may be necessary to ensure effective regulation and enforcement by the FCA. Subsection (2)(b) provides any regulations may correspond to any provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, in particular those listed in subsection (3), with or without modification.
198.Subsection (3) sets out specific matters that the regulations may cover in order to ensure the FCA can take such steps as necessary to put in place appropriate arrangements to combat and deter breaches of the obligations under section 40 by banks and building societies. The reference to “criminal offences” at subsection (3)(a) will, for example, enable the regulations to make it an offence for banks and building societies to mislead the FCA.