On May 21, 2018, the FCA and the Insolvency Service signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a framework for their cooperation in matters of common interest.
Both the FCA and the IS have statutory powers of investigation and enforcement under their respective enabling legislation. Both organizations are also legally obliged, from May 25, 2018, to handle personal information according to the requirements of the EU General Data Protection Regulation.
The areas of cooperation include misconduct, investigations and enforcement within their respective remits.
The MoU outlines the structure and process for the FCA and IS to be able to exchange information (including personal data) and intelligence, in a lawful and proportionate manner, to further their respective objectives. The MoU includes details of the circumstances in which the FCA will be permitted to disclose confidential information (such disclosure generally being prohibited under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000) and outlines how each of the two organizations will treat information that is subject to legal professional privilege, including the circumstances in which privilege might be waived. The FCA and IS have agreed to apply a number of principles for the exchange and use of information, including the sharing of intelligence, the use of information for investigations and enforcement or other action, how data security controls will be applied and how data breaches will be handled.
The FCA and IS will monitor the effectiveness of the MoU and review it from time to time as necessary. The MoU has been published on the website of each organization.
The MoU is available at: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/mou/mou-insolvency-service.pdf.
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