Wind-down planning (WDP) is a regulatory requirement and is designed to ensure that regulated FS firms understand the triggers (both external and internal) that could lead to failure. The key purpose of a WDP is to ensure an orderly exit of a firm’s regulatory permissions such that the firm’s business can meet its liabilities and minimise the risk of harm to consumers.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is turning up the spotlight on what it sees as “widespread weakness in wind-down planning”. If your wind-down planning (WDP) fails to meet the FCA’s expectations, your firm could face an increase in regulatory scrutiny on capital and operational controls. 

If recent years have taught us anything, it’s that no financial services (FS) organisation, however strong it might seem, is unsinkable. 

Effective wind-down planning isn’t just a compliance exercise. It’s also a good way to test the viability of your operations. 

Senior specialists to support you

Our multi-disciplinary team of senior specialists blends a strong background in financial advisory, restructuring, special situations and regulatory expertise to deliver actionable results. We complement this with unrivalled experience in working with the key regulatory stakeholders in respect of regulated businesses.

Here to help

If your firm has prepared a wind-down plan, we can carry out a targeted assessment. This includes checking existing documentation against the FCA’s expectations. We can also carry out a broader examination of the robustness of the wind-down planning process or assist you in delivering required enhancements.

If your firm is required to prepare a wind-down plan for the first time, we can advise on regulatory requirements and help you draw up the triggers, steps to take, prepare cash flow forecasts, carry out stress tests and underlying documentation. We can either coordinate the end-to-end process or support specific elements such as facilitating workshops or advising on specific steps.

If you would like to know more about wind-down planning or how we can help, please get in touch.

Dina Devalia
Managing Director
T: +44 (0)20 3872 8342
M: +44 (0)7557 419 361
E: dina.devalia@quantuma.com

 

 

Article

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05 March 2024
FCA reminds Financial Services firms of the importance of preparing a wind-down plan
Author: Paula Fagan, Marketing Manager

As part of its latest key updates, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published guidance for Financial Services (FS) firms on preparing a wind-down plan. The purpose of a wind-down plan is to enable a FS firm to cease its regulated activities and exit the market in an orderly manner, if its business is no longer viable. The FCA states that it: ‘expects firms to consider the scenarios leading to financial stress, explore recovery options and, as a last resort, wind-down their business’.

Article

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12 February 2024
Dangers of complacency: Are your Client Asset Sourcebook (CASS) controls really as watertight as they should be?
How financial services firms can gain confidence in CASS compliance.

If your business goes down, failure to segregate clients’ assets could leave clients/consumers seriously out of pocket. But poor systems, oversight and control, combined with a lack of proper documentation, mean that many financial services (FS) firms are falling short of their CASS obligations and leaving their senior management team at risk of severe regulatory sanctions.

Dina Devalia looks at why CASS should be front and centre of the boardroom agenda and how to gain real confidence that your client money safeguards are fit for purpose.

Article

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06 December 2023
Prepared for the worst: How to turn wind-down planning into a source of strength
Savvy planning tips for financial services firms.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is turning up the spotlight on what it sees as “widespread weakness in wind-down planning”. If your wind down planning (WDP) fails to meet the FCA’s expectations, your firm could face an increase in regulatory scrutiny on capital and operational controls. But as Dina Devalia explains, effective wind-down planning isn’t just a compliance exercise. It’s also a good way to test the viability of your operations. So how can you get your wind-down planning up to the mark?