Related provisions for CASS 7.16.20
21 - 40 of 74 items.
The main purposes of an acknowledgement letter are:(1) to put the bank, exchange, clearing house, intermediate broker, OTC counterparty or other person (as the case may be) on notice of a firm'sclients' interests in client money that has been deposited with, or has been allowed to be held by, such person;(2) to ensure that the client bank account or client transaction account has been opened in the correct form (eg, whether the client bank account is being correctly opened as
(1) For each client bank account, a firm must, in accordance with CASS 7.18.6 R, complete and sign a client bank account acknowledgement letter clearly identifying the client bank account, and send it to the bank with whom the client bank account is, or will be, opened, requesting the bank to acknowledge and agree to the terms of the letter by countersigning it and returning it to the firm.(2) Subject to CASS 7.18.14 R and CASS 7.18.15 R, a firm must not hold or receive any client
(1) This rule does not apply to a firm to which CASS 7.18.4 R (1) applies.(2) For each client transaction account, a firm must, in accordance with CASS 7.18.6 R, complete and sign a client transaction account acknowledgement letter clearly identifying the client transaction account. That letter must be sent to the person with whom the client transaction account is, or will be, opened, requesting such person to acknowledge and agree to the terms of the letter by countersigning
(1) A firm which places client money at an authorised central counterparty in connection with a regulated clearing arrangement must, in accordance with CASS 7.18.6 R, complete and sign an authorised central counterparty acknowledgement letter clearly identifying the relevant client transaction account. That letter must be sent to the authorised central counterparty with whom the client transaction account is, or will be, opened, requesting such authorised central counterparty
If a firm opens a client bank account after a primary pooling event, the firm must:(1) promptly draw up and send out a new acknowledgement letter under CASS 7.18.2 R;(2) not hold or receive any client money in or into the client bank account unless it has sent the acknowledgement letter to the relevant person; and(3) if the firm has not received a duly countersigned acknowledgement letter that has not been inappropriately redrafted (see CASS 7.18.8 R) within 20 business days of
A primary pooling event occurs:(1) on the failure of the firm;(2) on the vesting of assets in a trustee2 in accordance with an 'assets requirement' imposed under section 55P(1)(b) or (c) (as the case may be) of the Act;2(3) on the coming into force of a requirement or requirements which, either separately or in combination:7(a) is or are for all client money held by the firm; and7(b) require the firm to take steps to cease holding all client money7; or(4) when the firm notifies7
If a primary pooling event occurs, then4:(1) (a) in respect of a sub-pool,4 the following is treated as a single notional pool of client money for the beneficiaries of that pool:45(i) any client money held in a client bank account of the firm relating to that sub-pool; and5(ii) any client money held in a client transaction account of the firm relating to that sub-pool, except for client money held in a client transaction account at an authorised central counterparty3 or a clearing
(1) 1Under EMIR, where a firm that is a
clearing member4
of an authorised central counterparty defaults, the authorised central counterparty may:4(a) portclient positions where possible; and(b) after the completion of the default management process:(i) return any balance due directly to those clients for whom the positions are held, if they are known to the authorised central counterparty; or(ii) remit any balance to the firm for the account of its clients if the clients are
(1) 7The restrictions on transfers of client money at CASS 7A.2.4R(4) are each of the type referred to at regulation 10B(4) of the IBSA Regulations as “a restriction in client money rules”.(2) Where Firm A has complied with the restrictions at CASS 7A.2.4R(4) for any transfers to Firm B, any money transferred to Firm B ceases to be client money held by Firm A (see CASS 7.11.34R(2)(e) (Discharge of fiduciary duty)).(3) But any money returned by Firm B to Firm A in the event of
(1) 7A firm may propose to cease to treat a balance of money as client money under CASS 7A.2.6AR(1) where the firm is using the procedure under regulation 12C of the IBSA Regulations to set a ‘hard bar date’ by giving a ‘hard bar date notice’, or another similar procedure in accordance with the legal procedure for the firm’sfailure.(2) In any case, a firm should consider the whether its obligations under law (including trust law) or any agreement permit it to cease to treat a
(1) 7This rule applies in respect of client money received by a firm after a primary pooling event that does not form part of a notional pool.(2) Where the firm is using the normal approach under CASS 7.13.6R (The normal approach), client money to which this rule applies must be received into a client bank account that does not contain any client money forming part of a notional pool under CASS 7A.2.4R(1) (Pooling and distribution or transfer).(3) (a) This paragraph applies in
1A firm must, when holding
safe custody assets2
belonging to clients, make adequate arrangements so as to safeguard clients' ownership rights, especially in the event of the firm's insolvency, and to prevent the use of
safe custody assets2
belonging to a client on the firm's own account except with the client's express consent.[Note: article 16(8)10 of MiFID]22
6A firm may either (i) liquidate an unclaimed safe custody asset it holds for a client, at market value, and pay away the proceeds or (ii) pay away an unclaimed safe custody asset it holds for a client, in either case, to a registered charity of its choice provided:(1) this is permitted by law and consistent with the arrangements under which that safe custody asset is held; (2) it has held that safe custody asset for at least 12 years;(3) in the 12 years preceding the divestment
Section 137B(1) of the Act (Miscellaneous ancillary matters) provides that rules may make provision which results in client money being held by a firm on trust (England and Wales and Northern
Ireland) or as agent (Scotland only). CASS 5.3.2 R creates a fiduciary relationship
between the firm and its client under which client
money is in the legal ownership of the firm but
remains in the beneficial ownership of the client.
In the event of failure of the firm,
costs relating to
A firm (other
than a firm acting in accordance
with CASS
5.4) receives and holds client money as
trustee (or in Scotland as agent) on the following terms:(1) for
the purposes of and on the terms of CASS
5.3, CASS
5.5 and
the client money (insurance) distribution
rules;(2) subject
to (4),1 for the clients (other than clients which
are insurance undertakings when
acting as such)1 for whom that money is
held, according to their respective interests in it;(3) after
all valid claims
(1) A
firm which holds client money can discharge its obligation
to ensure adequate protection for its clients in
respect of such money by complying
with CASS
5.3 which provides for such money to
be held by the firm on the terms
of a trust imposed by the rules.(2) The
trust imposed by CASS
5.3 is limited to a trust in respect of client money which a firm receives
and holds. The consequential and supplementary requirements in CASS
5.5 are
designed to secure the proper segregation
The circumstances referred to in CASS 11.10.1 R are:(1) the contract between the client and the CASS debt management firm expressly provides that client money might be held for more than five business days without being distributed to creditors;(2) the existence of such a term expressly providing that client money might be held for more than five business days without being distributed to creditors has been separately brought to the attention of the client prior to his entering
On each occasion that a CASS debt management firm receives client money from a client in relation to a debt management plan, or for the purpose of distribution to the client's creditors, and it is proposed not to make a client's payment to creditors within five business days of receipt of the client money in the circumstances described in CASS 11.10.3 R (1), it must: (1) as soon as reasonably practicable and within the five business day period, inform the client's creditors of
On each occasion a CASS debt management firm receives client money from a client in relation to a debt management plan, or for the purpose of distribution to the client's creditors, and is unable for any reason other than in the circumstances described in CASS 11.10.3 R (1) to make a payment to the client's creditors within five business days of receipt, it must: (1) inform the client of the delay and the reason for the delay;(2) inform the client of the risks and implications
The requirements imposed on a CASS debt management firm that holds client money vary depending on whether a firm is classified as a CASS small debt management firm or a CASS large debt management firm in CASS 11.2.3 R (CASS debt management firm types). CASS 11.1.4 R to CASS 11.1.6 R indicate which rules in the debt management client money chapter apply to which category of firm.
The debt management client money chapter applies (to the extent indicated by CASS 11.1.4 R to CASS 11.1.6 R) to a CASS debt management firm, even if at the date of the determination or, as the case may be, the notification, referred to in CASS 11.2.4 R, the CASS debt management firm is not holding client money, provided that:(1) it held client money in the previous calendar year; or(2) it projects to hold client money in the current calendar year.
Subject to CASS 11.1.6 R, only the rules and guidance in the debt management client money chapter listed in the table below apply to CASS small debt management firms.
Reference |
Rule |
Application |
|
Firm classification |
|
Responsibility for CASS operational oversight |
|
Definition of client money and discharge of fiduciary duty |
|
Organisational requirements |
|
Statutory trust |
|
Selecting an approved bank at which to hold client money |
|
Client bank account acknowledgement letters |
|
Segregation and the operation of client money accounts |
|
Payments to creditors |
|
CASS 11.11.1 R to CASS 11.11.12 R , CASS 11.11.30 R and CASS 11.11.32 G |
Records, accounts and reconciliations |
CASS 11 resolution pack |
|
Client money distribution in the event of a failure of a firm or approved bank |
If a firm holds money as agent of an insurance
undertaking then the firm'sclients (who are not insurance
undertakings) will be adequately protected to the extent that
the premiums which it receives
are treated as being received by the insurance
undertaking when they are received by the agent and claims money and premium refunds
will only be treated as received by the client when
they are actually paid over. The rules in CASS
5.2 make provision for agency agreements between firms
(1) A firm must not agree to:(a) deal in investments as agent for an insurance undertaking in connection with insurance mediation; or(b) act
as agent for an insurance undertaking for
the purpose of settling claims or handling premium refunds;
or(c) otherwise
receive money as agent of an insurance undertaking;unless:(d) it
has entered into a written agreement with the insurance
undertaking to that effect; and(e) it
is satisfied on reasonable grounds that the terms of the policies
A firm may
operate on the basis of an agency agreement as provided for by CASS 5.2.3 R for
some of its clients and with
protection provided by a client money trust
in accordance with CASS
5.3 or CASS
5.4 for other clients.
A firm may also operate on either
basis for the same client but
in relation to different transactions. A firm which
does so should be satisfied that its administrative systems and controls are
adequate and, in accordance with CASS 5.2.4 G, should ensure that
Where a CASS debt management firm receives client money in the form of cash, a cheque or other payable order, it must:(1) pay the money into a client bank account in accordance with CASS 11.9.1 R promptly and no later than on the business day after it receives the money;(2) if the firm holds the money overnight, hold it in a secure location in line with Principle 10; and(3) record the receipt of the money in the firm's books and records under the applicable requirements of CASS
A firm that receives or holds a client's assets under an arrangement to which this chapter2 applies and which exercises its right to treat the assets as its own must ensure that it maintains adequate records to enable it to meet any future obligations including the return of equivalent assets to the client.2
When appropriate, firms that enter into the arrangements with retail clients3covered in this chapter 2 will be expected to identify in the statement of custody assets sent to the client in accordance with COBS 16.4 (Statements of client designated investments or client money), article 63 of the MiFID Org Regulation (see COBS 16A.5)5 or CASS 9.5 (Reporting to clients on request)4 details of the assets which form the basis of the arrangements. Where the firm utilises global netting
The risk of loss or diminution of rights in connection with client money can arise where a firm's organisational arrangements give rise to the possibility that client money held by the firm may be paid for the account of a client whose money is yet to be received by the firm. Consistent with the requirement to hold client money as trustee (see CASS 7.17.5 G), a firm should ensure its organisational arrangements are adequate to minimise such a risk. This may include, for example,
(1) If the aggregate value of client
money and bonded investments a firm holds for a client is over £50,000 then the firm must ensure that it holds a bond for the excess over £50,000. (2) A firm must: (a) ensure that the bond is in the form prescribed by the FCA;
(b) ensure that the person specified to act as trustee in the bond is a designated professional body or a solicitor practising as such in the UK;
(c)
(1) Firms which hold client money or bonded investments for more than one client, may hold one bond to cover all of the clients concerned. The bonding requirements may be complied with by taking out a global bond. In firms with numerous offices compliance may be achieved in practice by calculating the requirement based on figures supplied by offices which is likely to be at least quarterly. These figures would need to be supplied and assessed soon after the end of each quarter.
Discussions with the appropriate regulator8 are particularly relevant where the firm has to discharge obligations to its customers or policyholders before it can cease carrying on a regulated activity. This may be the case, for example, where the firm is an insurer, a bank a dormant account fund operator,4 or, as is often the case, holding client money or customer assets.8
If an insurer,4 a bank, or a dormant account fund operator4 wishes to cease carrying on all regulated activities for which it has Part 4A permission,8 it will usually be necessary to wind down the business over a long term period which is normally more than six months. This may also be the case for a firm holding client money or customer assets. In these circumstances, it will usually be appropriate for the firm to apply for variation of its Part 4A permission and/or imposition
(1) Specific guidance on the additional procedures for a firm winding down (running off) its business in the circumstances discussed in SUP 6.2.8 G is in SUP 6 Annex 4.(2) The guidance in SUP 6 Annex 4 applies to any firm that is applying for variation of Part 4A permission or for the imposition, variation or cancellation of a requirement before it applies for cancellation of Part 4A permission8 to enable it to wind down (run off) its business over a long term period of six months
3The mandate rules do not apply to a firm:(1) in relation to client money that the firm is holding in accordance with CASS 5 or CASS 7 (including client money that the firm has allowed another person to hold or control in accordance with CASS 7.14.2R7) or CASS 115; or(2) in relation to custody assets6 that the firm is holding, or in respect of which the firm is carrying on safeguarding and administration of assets (without arranging), acting as trustee or depositary of an AIF
(1) 3CASS 8.1.2A R is not an absolute exemption, but it excludes the application of the mandate rules in relation to money or assets that a firm has received, is holding, or is responsible for (as appropriate and in the circumstances described in CASS 8.1.2A R).(2) This means that, for example in respect of CASS 8.1.2A R (1), a firm holding client money in accordance with CASS 5 or CASS 7 does not also need to comply with the mandate rules in relation to the client money which
3The mandate rules only apply to a firm that has a mandate, and do not affect the duties of any other person to whom the firm is able to give the types of instructions referred to in CASS 8.2.1R (4). For example, if a person (A) has accepted a deposit from a client, and a firm (B) has a mandate in respect of that client'sdeposit held by A, the mandate rules only apply to B, and do not affect the duties of A in relation to the deposit.
A firm may
not handle client money in accordance
with the rules in this section
unless each of the following conditions is satisfied:(1) the firm must have and maintain systems and controls
which are adequate to ensure that the firm is
able to monitor and manage its client money transactions
and any credit risk arising from the operation of the trust arrangement and,
if in accordance with CASS 5.4.2 R a firm complies
with both the rules in CASS
5.3 and CASS
5.4, such systems and
The deed referred to in CASS 5.4.6 R must
provide that the money (and,
if appropriate, designated investments)
are held:(1) for
the purposes of and on the terms of:(a) CASS
5.4;(b) the
applicable provisions of CASS
5.5; and(c) the client money (insurance) distribution rules(2) subject
to (41), for the clients (other than clients which
are insurance undertakings when
acting as such) 1for whom that money is
held, according to their respective interests in it;(3) after
all valid
(1) Subject to (2) this chapter applies to a firm when it:(a) holds financial instruments, is safeguarding and administering investments, is acting as trustee or depositary of an AIF or is acting as trustee or depositary of a UCITS,2 in accordance with CASS 6;24(aa) is acting as a small AIFM and carries on excluded custody activities in accordance with CASS 6; and/or4(b) holds client money in accordance with CASS 7.(2) This chapter does not apply to a firm to which CASS 6 applies
The purpose of the CASS resolution pack is to ensure that a firm maintains and is able to retrieve information that would:6(1) in the event of its insolvency, assist an insolvency practitioner in achieving a timely return of client money and safe custody assets held by the firm to that firm’sclients; and6(2) in the event of its or another firm’s resolution, assist the Bank of England in its capacity as resolution authority under the RRD; and6(3) in either case, assist the FCA
1A mandate is any means that give a firm the ability to control a client's assets or liabilities, which meet the conditions in (1) to (5): (1) they are obtained by the firm from the client, and with the client's consent;(2) where those means are obtained in the course of, or in connection with, the firm'sinsurance mediation activity, they are in written form at the time they are obtained from the client;(3) they are retained by the firm;(4) they put the firm in a position where
The instructions referred to at CASS 8.2.1 R (4) are all instructions given by a firm to another person who also has a relationship with the firm'sclient. For example, the other person may be the client'sbank, intermediary, custodian or credit card provider. This means, for example, that any means by which a firm can control a client's money or assets for which it is itself responsible to the client (rather than any other person) would not amount to a mandate. This includes where
(1) 3A firm will, subject to (3), be deemed to comply
with CASS 5.3 to CASS
5.6 if it receives or holds client
money and it either:2(a) in relation to a service charge,
complies with the requirement to segregate such money in accordance with section
42 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 ("the 1987 Act"); or2(b) in relation to money which is clients'
money for the purpose of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' Rules
of Conduct ("RICS rules") in force as at 14 January
3CASS
5.1.5 R (1)(b) and CASS
5.1.5 R (2) do not apply, and hence money is client money, in any case where:(1) in relation to an activity specified
in CASS 5.2.3 R (1)
(a) to CASS 5.2.3 R (1) (c), the insurance undertaking has agreed that the firm may treat money which
it receives and holds as agent of the undertaking,
as client money and in accordance
with the provisions of CASS
5.3 to CASS
5.6; and(2) the agreement in (1) is in writing
and adequate to show that the insurance
1: The fraction is 6/52 where:(a) the firm is an authorised unit trust manager; or
(aa) the firm is an authorised contractual scheme manager; or
(b) the firm acts only as an authorised corporate director of an ICVC; or
(c) the firm is an investment manager (including the operator of an unregulated collective investment scheme in relation to which the firm carries on the activity of an investment manager), unless paragraph 2 applies.
2: The fraction is 13/52 where the firm is an