What happened?
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released its Consumer Finance Regulatory Priorities report on 17 March 2026. This publication is part of a series of retail and wholesale supervision priority reports, and defines the regulator’s specific expectations for consumer credit firms, brokers, hire firms, and debt collectors.
The report highlights three primary focus areas: ensuring responsible access to credit, improving the quality of forbearance and debt support, and enforcing effective complaint and redress procedures.
Why does it matter?
With 79% of UK adults holding a credit agreement and over 3 million seeing applications declined, the FCA expects lenders to use alternative data like open banking to expand responsible access. For those struggling with debt, the FCA warns that forbearance and debt advice quality are not consistently meeting outcomes.
Furthermore, the stakes are elevated for motor finance lenders due to the imminent lift of the Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) and Hire Purchase (HP) commission complaint pause on 31 May 2026 and the finalisation of CP25/27.
Who is affected?
Lenders, hire purchase firms, credit brokers, debt collectors, and claims management companies operating under FCA consumer credit permissions are directly affected.
Key risks
Firms that fail to address these regulatory priorities face major operational and compliance risks:
- Critical backlogs and process failures when the motor finance commission complaint pause lifts.
- FCA intervention and supervisory action for inadequate debt forbearance or complex, high-barrier customer journeys.
- Incomplete regulatory returns under the new CCR009 return, inviting deep data-driven supervision and audit.
Actions to take
Compliance leaders should execute several strategic actions immediately:
- Conduct a gap analysis of current affordability frameworks against the FCA priorities baseline.
- Audit consumer debt support and forbearance processes to ensure barriers are eliminated.
- Prepare complaints-handling and capital structures for the final motor finance redress scheme rules.
Wider implications
The FCA is transitioning to highly data-driven and outcomes-based supervision. Firms that can evidence robust, compliant consumer outcomes will experience a lighter-touch regulatory approach, while outliers will face intensified supervisory scrutiny.
Recommendations
We recommend implementing specialized complaints remediation technology and robust data governance to capture consumer outcome metrics and satisfy the new CCR009 returns.
Supporting sources
Frequently asked questions
What are the FCA's three main priorities for consumer credit?
The core priorities are: ensuring consumers can access credit that meets their needs, providing proactive support for consumers struggling with debt, and managing complaint handling and redress properly.
When does the motor finance commission complaint pause lift?
The regulatory pause on handling PCP and HP commission complaints is set to lift on 31 May 2026.
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