LOANPAD CONFLICTS OF INTEREST POLICY
Purpose
This policy details how Loanpad Limited (the Firm) will identify, monitor, prevent and manage conflicts of interest in respect of its business activities.
The Firm is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and, as such, will act in accordance with the Conflicts of Interest rules as defined in the FCA Handbook, which will take precedence over the requirements of this policy.
Review of Policy
This policy will be reviewed regularly, at least once a year, and amended as considered necessary by the Firm’s Management Body in the event of changing circumstances or regulations.
Responsibilities
The CEO of the Firm is responsible for ensuring that its systems, controls and procedures are able to identity, manage and control or prevent any potential and actual conflicts of interest that may arise.
Definition
A conflict of interest is a situation in which someone in a position of trust to the client has competing professional or personal interests. Such competing interests can make it difficult for individuals to fulfil their duties to their clients impartially. Conflicts may also arise between the clients themselves. A conflict of interest may exist even if no unethical or improper act results from it.
Conflicts of interest arise when in the course of providing a service to a client there is a risk of damage to the interests of a client. The Firm will consider whether the Firm or its employees (or any other person directly or indirectly linked by control to the Firm):
Are likely make a financial gain or avoid a loss at the expense of the client
Have an interest in the outcome of the service provided which is distinct from the client’s interest
Have a financial or other incentive to favour the interests of another client over the interests of the client
Carry on the same business as the client
Receive, from a person other than the client, an inducement in relation to the service provided to the client, other than the standard commission or fee for that service
Identifying, managing and preventing conflicts of interest
The Firm has reviewed its business model and has identified the following potential conflicts of interest:
Employee Roles and Responsibilities
Management of Employees
Remuneration
Outside Business interests
Connected persons
Inducements including Gifts and Hospitality
Personal account dealing
Lenders interests versus borrowers interests
Handling confidential and insider information flows
There is appropriate mitigation in place for all of the above conflicts of interest. Full details of all actual and potential conflicts of interest and recorded on the Firm’s conflicts of interest register which is reviewed at least quarterly by the Board. The Firm will regularly review its business model to ensure any new potential conflicts of interest are noted and managed or prevented effectively, and such new conflicts will be added to the register.
The Firm is a member of a group and, as such, will take into consideration circumstances where conflicts of interest may arise as a result of the structure and business activities of the group.
Employee Roles & Responsibilities
The Firm maintains a clear segregation of roles and responsibilities within the Management Body to maintain an effective control environment and to avoid conflicts of interest in roles wherever possible.
Supervision and Management of Staff
Staff will be based at Loanpad’s office and remotely. Due to the number of UK based employees, it is not possible to physically segregate staff with access to sensitive data that may give rise to conflicts of interest at this time, however, as the business grows the requirement to establish such controls will be considered.
Recording conflicts of interest
The Firm will record all conflicts of interest that arise, or may arise, on the Conflicts of Interest Register. It will be updated on a regular basis. The register will include the way the Firm prevents of manages the conflicts and the person responsible. The Register will be organised by business lines, services or activities carried out.
The Conflicts of Interest Register will be provided to the Management body for review at least annually.
Disclosure or declining to act
For conflicts of interest that the Firm cannot manage or prevent, the Firm will either inform the client or decline to act for the client.
Disclosure
As a last resort, where there is no other means of managing the conflict or where the measures in place do not, in the view of the Firm, sufficiently protect the interests of clients, the conflict of interest will be disclosed to clients, to enable an informed decision to be made by the client as to whether they wish to continue doing business with the Firm in that particular situation. The Firm must disclose to the client the general nature and sources of conflicts of interest and the steps taken to mitigate those risks. Any circumstances in which the Firm has made such a disclosure will be recorded on the Conflicts of Interest Register.
The disclosure will be in writing and will include:
A statement that the arrangement in place by the Firm are not sufficient to ensure that, with reasonable confidence, the risk of damage to the interests of the client will be prevented;
A description of the specific conflict of interest taking into account the nature of the client or group of client to whom the disclosure is made; and
An explanation of the general nature and sources of the conflicts of interest, the risks to the client that arise as a result of the conflict of interest and the steps undertaken to mitigate those risks.
The disclosure will be in sufficient detail to enable the client to make an informed decision as to whether to proceed or not and must be provided in a durable medium.
Declining to Act
Where the Firm considers that it is not able to manage the conflict of interest in any other way, it may decline to act for a client.
Breaches of Conflicts of Interest Policy
Any breaches of the Conflicts of Interest rules will be recorded on the Firm’s breach log in conjunction with its Regulatory Breach policy.
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