We are changing our rules to better capture non-financial misconduct (NFM) in non-banks, and consulting on whether extra Handbook guidance is needed.
Read CP25/18 and our Policy Statement (PDF)[1]
Serious misconduct such as bullying, harassment and violence is a matter of regulatory concern.
By aligning the conduct rules in banks and non-banks for cases of serious NFM, we want to:
This change will help promote healthy and inclusive workplace cultures and deepen trust in financial services, in line with our strategy for 2025 to 2030 (PDF)[2].
This publication applies to all Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) firms with a Part 4A permission and staff in those firms who are subject to our Code of Conduct (COCON)[3].
It may also be of interest to other stakeholders, including:
The new rule amending the scope of COCON in non-banks applies from 1 September 2026, to line up with the conduct rule breach reporting period for most firms.
We are also seeking views on whether any additional Handbook guidance is needed to help firms meet their obligations under our rules.
Our consultation is open until 10 September 2025.
Please respond using our online response form.
You can also email [email protected] or write to: Governance and Cross-Cutting Standards, Financial Conduct Authority, 12 Endeavour Square London E20 1JN.
We will review the feedback and set out our final regulatory approach later in 2025.
In September 2023, we published a Consultation Paper (CP23/20) on proposals for a new regulatory framework on Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) in the financial sector. This included proposals on NFM.
On 12 March 2025, we announced that we have no plans to take this work further, except for our proposals on NFM.
CP25/18 on tackling non-financial misconduct in financial services finalises our proposed rule and consults on draft guidance to support firms to apply our rules on NFM if needed.
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