Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) policy director David Geale has said a requirement to record all phone calls will be ‘that onerous’ for advisers.
In its latest consultation paper on how the Financial Instruments Directive II (Mifid II) will be implemented in the UK, the FCA said that it will create a requirement for advisers to record telephone calls.
FCA policy director David Geale (pictured) said the new requirement will not be very taxing for advisers because of the technology that is available in the market.
‘The requirement to tape we believe is not that onerous,’ he said. ‘Technology is readily available to record and stores your call cheaply and easily.’
Geale said one of the reasons behind introducing the phone recording was to help with Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) as well as its own enforcement work.
‘If you talk to the FOS for example actually having a recording as a record of conversation can be very helpful for the client and the firm because you have a proper reflection of what was said,’ he said. ‘We think it’s a sensible step and we think it can help with our supervisory enforcement process and we think it can help with the FOS.’
The EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (Mifid II) is set to come into force from January 2018.
When asked what effects Brexit may have upon Mifid, Geale said the FCA is required to emplace Mifid II rules by January 2018, and this will not change unless the government dictates.
‘The regulation will remain applicable until any changes are made, which will be a matter for government and parliament,’ he said.