In 2008, the collapse of the Lehman Brothers sent shockwaves around the world and re-defined the regulatory landscape for years to come.
To avoid such a catastrophe from happening again, the FCA handbook on CASS was created with 13 chapters outlining how firms should properly segregate and protect client money, allowing for a healthy and competitive market in investment and custodial services.
However, failure to adhere to these rules can result in hefty fines from the regulator; J.P Morgan were fined £33.32 million and BNY were also fined an eye-watering £126 million for breaches of the CASS rules.
The CASS landscape changed significantly under PS14/9 and more recently, the new focus on CASS audit firms under the FRC Assurance Standard. We have also seen other regulatory changes like MiFID II and the Senior Managers Regime and geopolitical change such as Brexit add to the complexity and cost of CASS compliance.
Adhering to regulation and following the CASS rules can be an arduous and composite task for financial firms. Determining who is responsible for CASS compliance, and creating a culture of governance is essential to a firm’s success in navigating the complex regulatory landscape.
At FourthLine, we have been providing regulatory compliance services for over 11 years, specifically Client Asset compliance for small, medium and large firms across Asset Management, Wealth, Banking, Insurance and Investment Platforms.
After identifying a need for clarity around the ever-changing regulation, as well as access to tools that can support the development of a strong CASS culture in firms, we have developed our first, CASS Firm-Wide Knowledge & Awareness online course.
The creation of this interactive course is an amalgamation of in-depth research and partnership with industry CASS Practitioners to bring you a high-level overview, background to, and key concepts around CASS regulation.
Across four modules, you will be introduced to CASS regulation, contexts in which it applies, real-life scenarios, examples of where you should apply the CASS rules, guidance for creating a strong CASS culture and governance and maintaining compliance.
As well as real-world examples of “what happens when things go wrong”, your knowledge will also be tested throughout, ensuring an immersive learning experience that allows you to apply the knowledge to your firm and assess its current compliance and governance structure.
For more information about this course and to gain access to our demo, fill in your details by clicking the link below:
How FourthLine can help:
FourthLine is working with a number of financial service firms to help them with Operational Resilience enablement and Outsourcing and 3rd-Party Risk Management, through a mixture of end-to-end consulting and resourcing options.
