CISI UK Financial Regulation study guide
CISI UK Financial Regulation · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The CISI UK Financial Regulation qualification is a professional exam offered by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), a body whose head office is at 20 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 3BY, and which describes itself as serving "over 54,000 CISI members worldwide". The exam is typically taken by people entering or already working in UK financial services - retail banking, investment management, financial planning support, operations, compliance and client-facing roles - who need a working command of how the UK market is structured and regulated. The CISI UK Financial Regulation study guide has 5 sections and about 2,411 words.
01The Structure of the UK Financial Services Industry: Regulators, Committees and the Safety Net
Domain 1 is the map of the system: who regulates whom, how the regulators themselves are governed, and how the industry is organised. Questions are factual - statutory objectives, the role of individual committees, compensation limits, and the split between prudential and conduct supervision.
470 words, about 2 min02The Regulatory Environment: Objectives, Principles, Authorisation and Enforcement
This domain covers how the regulators pursue their objectives in practice: the Principles for Businesses, the threshold conditions, the Handbook's architecture, the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, and the enforcement process from investigation to the Upper Tribunal. The FCA has a strategic objective plus three operational objectives; the PRA has two.
490 words, about 2 min03Regulated Activities and the Conduct of Business Rules
The boundary of authorisation and the day-to-day rules for dealing with clients: the Regulated Activities Order, client categorisation, financial promotions, suitability, best execution, inducements, complaints and the Treating Customers Fairly outcomes. Under FSMA s19, carrying on a regulated activity by way of business without authorisation is a criminal offence.
469 words, about 2 min04Financial Crime and Market Abuse: Offences, Controls and Reporting
The criminal and regulatory perimeter around dirty money and abusive trading: POCA, the Money Laundering Regulations, bribery and corporate tax-evasion offences, the UK Market Abuse Regulation, and the disclosure duties that sit on firms and issuers. POCA 2002 creates three principal offences: concealing, transferring or disposing of criminal property (s327); arranging such a transfer (s328); and acquisition, use or possession (s329).
476 words, about 2 min05Ethics and Professional Standards: Principles, Conflicts and the Consumer Duty
How a professional should behave when the rules run out: applying the FCA Principles, identifying and managing conflicts, handling gifts and inside information, escalating concerns, and meeting the Consumer Duty. Questions are scenario-based and often have two defensible answers - the higher standard wins.
506 words, about 3 min