Let’s get one thing straight: when it comes to the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Consumer Duty regulations, boardrooms are playing a different tune to the slogans proudly slapped on the lobby walls. ArvatoConnect’s latest study, titled Navigating Consumer Duty, pulls back the curtain on the so-called “leadership” in financial services, and it’s a tale as old as time—big promises, little action.
Turns out, almost half of financial services firms (46%) wish they’d made customer outcomes a bigger priority at board level. Why? Because, shockingly, having a token programme team or a couple of compliance officers mumbling about it doesn’t exactly scream culture change.
Board-Level Representation: Still in the Queue
The study found only 44% of firms even bothered to try shifting their culture to align with Consumer Duty regulations. And where was all this cultural transformation happening? Not in the boardrooms, apparently. The FCA itself pointed out that, in many cases, the Duty is being driven by the usual suspects—risk and compliance teams—while the C-suite executives are busy, well, not prioritising it.
The FCA has been clear: if you want meaningful change, you need leadership from the top. But let’s not kid ourselves. Company culture might be set at the top, but it’s often junior staff sweating the details while the directors regret not stepping up.
A Year In: A Mixed Bag of Optimism
So, a year on from Consumer Duty’s implementation, how are those customer outcomes looking? Well, 3% of firms think they’ve nailed it, while the rest are somewhere between cautiously optimistic and outright indifferent:
27% think outcomes have “significantly improved” (good for them).
42% report “moderate improvement” (a safe, fence-sitting answer).
22% admit to only “marginal improvement” (at least they’re honest).
And then there’s the 10% who say nothing has changed (what a surprise).
Despite these lukewarm results, a whopping 85% of respondents believe Consumer Duty has somehow improved their business performance. Because, of course, a compliance tick-box exercise is always a win for efficiency.
Technology to the Rescue? Sort of.
Here’s where things get interesting—or predictable, depending on your perspective. The report highlights that 51% of firms are betting big on technology like AI and automation to save the day. Another 45% are focusing on data analytics, and 37% think revising compliance policies is the way forward.
But wait—nearly a third of respondents (29%) suggest they might have gone a bit overboard with the tech and now want to bring back more human contact. Because nothing says “we care about our customers” like realising you’ve turned your call centre into a chatbot wasteland.
ArvatoConnect’s James Towner summed it up neatly: “Success relies on businesses defining clear objectives, designing bespoke solutions, and putting people first.” Translation: stop throwing spaghetti AI solutions at the wall and hoping something sticks.
Managing Costs: The Elephant in the Boardroom
Unsurprisingly, managing costs is the biggest challenge firms face under Consumer Duty. Let’s not pretend this is about customer outcomes—it’s about squeezing compliance into an already stretched budget. While Towner waxes lyrical about “digital orchestration” and the wonders of well-deployed AI, the reality is clear: for most businesses, compliance is an expensive inconvenience, not a passion project.
Final Thoughts: Lip Service vs Leadership
So, what have we learned? That catchy lobby slogans like “Putting Customers First” mean little if board-level discussions are more focused on profit margins than people. Consumer Duty compliance, it seems, is less about leadership and more about regret management.
The next time you see a financial services firm boasting about how much they’ve improved customer outcomes, remember this: it’s probably the junior staff who deserve the credit, not the suits in the boardroom. After all, culture may be set at the top, but in too many companies, it’s the people at the bottom who are actually holding the fort.
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