Vulnerable Customers

With over 20 years of experience in financial services and compliance, Redcliffe’s Vulnerable Customer Training courses are led by a seasoned educator and finance expert. He has a proven track record of providing expert guidance on various compliance topics, including financial crime and regulatory issues.

Formerly the Head of Education for HSBC across the UK and Europe, he oversaw compliance training related to regulatory requirements and financial crime prevention. His tenure at HSBC was during a critical period of heightened regulatory scrutiny, including the bank’s Deferred Prosecution Agreement, where he played a key role in ensuring the organisation adhered to stringent compliance standards.

In addition to delivering in-depth training programs, our vulnerable customers course leader has held senior positions in compliance and risk management. He led the Monitoring and Testing program for a UK Wealth Manager and served as Senior Vice President for Global Risk & Compliance Training at a US-based bank. He also worked at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), where he was the expert on rules within the Training & Competence Handbook for the Insurance Firms Division.

His extensive experience across both financial services and regulatory bodies gives him a unique perspective on compliance, risk management, and vulnerable customer care, which he leverages to further enrich his engaging and insightful vulnerable customer training.

Redcliffe’s vulnerable customers training course will teach you the following:

• Practical measures to help your firm deal with vulnerable customers confidently and effectively.
• Understand the FCA’s expectations on how firms are expected to consistently serve vulnerable customers and organise themselves to do this.
• Recognising good practices and simultaneously avoiding poor practices when training staff to deal with vulnerable customers effectively.
• Recognise the linkages between the design and marketing of your products and services and how they relate to our vulnerable customer experience – in other words, joined-up thinking.
• How you should skill staff to recognise vulnerability.
• To highlight some of the discussion models available and other sources of industry best practice.
• Review your vulnerable customer procedures, determine if they are fit for purpose and deliver the right outcomes.
• Identify the regulatory developments around vulnerability from 2015 onwards to better contextualise actions required today.
• The role of the Vulnerability Task Force and how their work supports firms.

• We are fully aware of how FCA expectations have evolved, along with best practices and mandatory updates, all of which are effectively reflected in this vulnerable customers training course.
• Redcliffe Training has served clients of all shapes and sizes in the financial sector. We are fully aware of the obligations of a regulated firm and what is expected from them by the regulator.
• We have been delivering courses for over 20 years and are certain we deliver…. as well as anyone in the marketplace.
• Our expert trainer brings extensive experience as both a regulator and a trainer of regulatory requirements across wholesale and retail financial firms. He will share valuable insights from his past experiences to enhance the relevancy and impact of the vulnerable customer course.
• We do not use academics. All our trainers are highly experienced professionals with relevant vocational experience in real-world settings.
• The case studies included in this course will enhance your learning. They are often found to be essential in truly understanding the requirements and growing the skills to apply them.
• We are always judged by our results which speak for themselves, and previous feedback received from delegates has always been excellent.

• Dealing with vulnerable customers training is designed for those working in regulated firms. While much of the session references FCA rules; the underlying principles support effective customer support regardless of jurisdiction. First-line staff will gain value when they are dealing with clients directly or managing teams that have client interaction, overseeing the firm’s response to vulnerability, being involved in the design of training frameworks to address vulnerability responses or simply wishing to understand more
• Second and third-line staff who are advising risk owners or evaluating systems and controls in place to meet vulnerability requirements will also find this vulnerable customer training course valuable in ensuring appropriate coverage of their work

Vulnerability is something most people hope to avoid personally, but we all expect to receive the right care and support if we find ourselves in that situation. More and more companies are committing to supporting vulnerable customers in line with FCA guidelines, and this approach is increasingly seen as both necessary and responsible. Regulators are backing this shift, and there is a growing expectation that firms must do more to fulfil these responsibilities.

Specialist courses, like our vulnerable customers training course, are now an essential requirement for firms to ensure their staff are equipped to identify and support vulnerable individuals effectively. Companies must also structure their operations with a strong focus on fairness, prioritising the needs of vulnerable customers. Senior managers, in particular, should review their practices to understand potential risks for vulnerable clients and take appropriate steps to mitigate risks where possible.

This comprehensive training course provides a thorough understanding of vulnerability, how to address it, and the steps needed to integrate these approaches into a practical and sustainable operating model.

With a clear focus on education and engagement, this well-rounded vulnerable customer course encourages active participation throughout. Practical examples are used to reinforce key concepts, ensuring the learning is not just theoretical but directly applicable to real-world scenarios.