Vetting Guidance
Who needs to be vetted?
All individuals that hold, or are to be appointed to, key roles at a licenceholder or a licence applicant must be notified to the Commission for approval. The Commission will vet these individuals to ensure they meet its fit and proper test. The test considers the integrity, competence and financial standing of the individual. The test is described in more detail in the Commission’s Licensing Policy.
Vettable roles are controllers, directors and key persons. A key person is defined in section 48 of the Financial Services Act 2008. Any person that has significant powers or responsibilities with respect to a regulated activity is classed as a key person.
Which form needs to be submitted?
If the individual is already in a key role with a licenceholder and the new role is with the same licenceholder, i.e. it is a change of role or an internal promotion, a Role Change Notification should be submitted. However if the individual has been vetted for the licenceholder within the last 6 months a letter explaining the new role and advising of any changes to the individual’s circumstances will be accepted.
If the individual is being vetted by the Commission for the first time or is now being appointed to a key role with a “different” licenceholder, i.e. the individual has not previously been vetted, during their current period of employment with this licenceholder, a Personal Questionnaire is required.
The forms are available from the Commission’s website. They can be completed online or handwritten, but please include an original signature on the form. Please include any supporting documentation as stated on the checklists of both forms.
The forms should be submitted through the licenceholder or licence applicant and should be directed to the Authorisations Division at the Commission.
Please be aware, if individuals have any spent convictions these do not need to be disclosed in the vetting form. Instead they should be disclosed to the Authorisations Team, under separate cover, directly by the individual.
As part of the vetting checks a credit check will be undertaken. A reputable credit check agency in the UK will be used for this. For individuals that are, or have been, resident outside the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands and whose data will therefore not be available to the credit check agency, we will need a letter from their main bankers indicating how long they have banked with the institution and that the bank account has been run satisfactorily.
When should notification be given to the Commission?
As per the Financial Services Rule Book (Rule 7.9) the Commission must be notified at least 20 business days in advance of an appointment to a key role. The Commission expects that notification will be made by completing and submitting the relevant vetting form.
The Commission will endeavour to complete its “fit and proper” person checks within 20 working days of receipt of the vetting forms. However this service standard can only be met if all the required information is provided when the form is submitted and the relevant third parties respond in a timely manner to the Commission’s request for references and confirmations.
Please note, the Commission will generally return any vetting forms that have not been completed correctly or are incomplete. The vetting process will only commence when a properly completed application form, and relevant supporting documents, have been supplied.
Where, for any reason, the “fit and proper” checks cannot be completed within the 20 working day period, a licenceholder may permit an individual to take up a key person position. However it should be made clear that such appointment is subject to confirmation from the Commission that the individual is suitable for the role proposed.
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