
A consultation issued by the regulator said solicitors would be able to carry out mainstream consumer credit activities as long as they are central to the legal services they provide.
The proposals represent a sharp about-turn by the SRA, which last year suggested it may have to stop regulating consumer credit activities until a largely hostile reaction from a worried profession led it to think again.
After the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) assumed overall responsibility for regulating consumer credit work in April 2014, it seemed as though the only way the SRA could continue to regulate consumer credit work would be if it adopted much or all of the rules used by the FCA.
But following talks with HM Treasury and the FCA – during which the existing position has been maintained – the SRA has narrowed the scope of the activities which require regulation by the FCA.
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