On 28 January 2015, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which it entered into with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) (dated 29 September 2014).
The purpose of the MoU is to facilitate and provide a framework for co-operation and co-ordination between the two parties where there is an overlap between their roles and responsibilities under various acts, including inter alia the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
The MoU addresses four specific areas for collaboration: information sharing; policy and rulemaking; investigation and enforcement; and confidentiality.
Each year, on or around the anniversary of the signing of the MoU, the FCA and ICO intend to review the MoU as well as the effectiveness of their co-operation and co-ordination.
The FCA hopes that the MoU will help in responding to the large volume of unsolicited marketing that it needs to deal with following the transfer of responsibility for consumer credit regulation to them on 1 April 2014.
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