Policy

One of the principal functions of the Asset Finance division of the Finance & Leasing Association is to put forward to the Government and to the European and international organisations the Association’s views on legislation, both existing and proposed. Much of the work is done by way of responses to consultative documents and comments. A number of proactive projects are regularly undertaken as well, examples being the submission of Budget representations, research and discussion papers.

This area provides information on current issues facing FLA members as well as links to consultations, Government Bills and FLA responses. Below you can find details of our policy publications which are attached at the bottom of this page, including guidance on the GDPR legislation, our toolkits, and leasing guidance for schools.

Regulation

Small companies should have appropriate legal protection just as consumers do. But the current legal and regulatory framework does not serve their interests well. Action is required by the FCA, PRA and by Government, in particular, to modernise several provisions of the Consumer Credit Act. We propose a number of potential changes to regulation (including the Consumer Credit Act) and the business advice landscape to create a simple, predictable regulatory landscape, improve productivity and ensure that asset finance can continue to play its important role in supporting the smallest businesses. You can read our proposals here.

GDPR Guidance

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force on 25 May 2018. In response to FLA members’ request for some high-level information to use in discussion with intermediaries we have produced GDPR: Information for Intermediaries.  Much of the information has been taken from the ICO website and the document has been drafted following discussions with the ICO and a group of members. We appreciate that members will have already taken their own advice on GDPR implementation and therefore it is important to note that the attached is simply for information. It will be for firms to decide on their implementation, approach based on their business models and the GDPR requirements.   We will keep the information provided under review and continue to liaise with the ICO, members and broker organisations in this regard.

To read the Guidance, please click here.

In response to member requests, we have also issued a joint statement with the NACFB that summarises the key points that funders and brokers should consider when issuing privacy notices