Handbook Notice 79

2.2 The Board has made minor administrative changes to various modules of the
Handbook, as listed above. These correct or clarify existing provisions. They were not
consulted on because they are regarded as falling within the policy scope of previous
consultations. None of these changes represents any alteration in FSA policy.
2.3 In summary the amendments made this month are as follows:
• change to the definition of “Combined Code” and LR Appendix 1, following the
introduction of a new version of the Combined Code on Corporate Governance;
• amendments to the definition of “distance contract”, and COBS 5.1.-1R which
are intended to clarify how the rules implementing the Distance Marketing
Directive (2002/65/EC) apply to intermediaries both in the case where a supplier
is authorised and where the supplier is unauthorised; this is consistent with our
general policy position and is also consistent with the relevant HMT regulations;
• a correction to FEES 5 Annex 1R to show the correct fee for industry block 2
(insurers), in relation to the funding of the Financial Ombudsman Service, in
order to correspond with the authorised fee set out in Policy Statment PS08/5;
• a correction to the table in COBS 18.5.2R to reflect that COBS 5.1 applies to
operators of collective investment schemes;
• addition of new definitions for “home financing” and “home finance
administration” to correct an anomaly in the definitions used in MIPRU;
• a correction within the definition of “investment research”;
• amendment to SYSC 2.1.6G to remove an out-of-date reference to ECO, and to
amend the text following the deletion of the definition of “incoming electronic
commerce activity”;
• removal of some ‘in-text’ definitions in MIPRU that are no longer appropriate as
the terms (“home financing” and “home finance administration”) are being more
accurately defined in new Glossary terms made by this instrument;
• a change to COBS 1 Annex 1 (which describes the application of this
sourcebook) in order to correct the misleading statement that the territorial
scope of COBS is modified so that it does not apply to EEA UCITS management
companies other than in relation to financial promotion and the information
gathering and suitability rules; this statement does not sufficiently take account
of the effect of section 266 of the Act, the effect of which is to ‘delimit’ the
respective regulatory roles of the ‘home’ and ‘host’ EEA State in relation to
UCITS recognised under section 264; the relevant paragraph of this Annex (para
9.2(2) of Part 3) has been amended accordingly;
• minor clarificatory changes to COBS 3.2.2G and COBS 4.1.6G, guidance which
relates to client classification and financial promotions. The revisions do not
involve any change in policy, but should make it clearer to firms that corporate
finance contacts (and venture capital contacts) need to be categorised as ‘clients’
when they are sent financial promotions. The new guidance should also make it
Financial Services Authority 7