Friday Five Focus on Regulation – 5 Questions in 5 Minutes – 29 May 2026

Friday Five Focus on Regulation – 5 Questions in 5 Minutes Every Friday

What’s this all about?

Each week, we ask questions relating to one of these topics: Investments, Taxation, Pensions, Protection, or Regulation. This week, our Friday Five is relevant to Regulation; this is useful as you prepare for either of the CII’s R01 or CF1 exams. The challenge is for you to answer them in 5 minutes. Answers at the bottom of the page.

Questions

IMPORTANT! These questions relate to examinable tax year 2025/26, examinable by the CII until 31 August 2026. They do not relate to tax year 2026/27 which is only examinable by the CII from 1 September 2026.

1. Which three providers of government guidance have been brought under the single financial guidance body the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS)?
   1. The Money Advice Service, the Pensions Advisory Service, and the Pensions Ombudsman.
   2. StepChange, Pension Wise, and the Pensions Advisory Service.
   3. Pension Wise, Citizens’ Advice, and the Money Advice Service.
   4. The Pensions Advisory Service, the Money Advice Service, and Pension Wise.

2. Regulated larger firms must maintain resources to cover risks and must carry out risk assessment and stress testing scenarios as required by the
   1. Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR).
   2. Investment Firms Prudential Regime (IFPR).
   3. Capital Adequacy Directive (CAD).
   4. Capital Requirements Directive (CRD).

3. When referring to building societies in the UK, it is correct to say that they
   1. are required to pay dividends to their shareholders.
   2. were originally set up to lend money to other banks.
   3. are owned by their shareholders.
   4. do not have shareholders to pay dividends to.

4. Within the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) High Level Standards, the ‘common platform requirements’ refer to the
   1. systems and controls a firm should have that are appropriate to its business.
   2. use of mainstream platform and proprietary systems.
   3. use of FCA technology e.g., RegData.
   4. level and type of management information required.

5. Within the Consumer Credit Act 1974, what obligations does a credit reference agency have?
   1. To disclose information held about a consumer and to correct it if inaccurate.
   2. Make all relevant information available to interested parties free of charge.
   3. To provide consumers with a copy of their details every time the information held changes.
   4. To hold records for a minimum period of five years.

Answers

1. D; See R01 Study Text, Chp 8; Rationale: The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) brings together the Pensions Advisory Service, the Money Advice Service and Pension Wise.
2. B; See R01 Study Text, Chp 6; Rationale: The Investment Firms Prudential Regime (IFPR) applies to larger regulated firms and has replaced the Capital Requirements Directive following the UK’s departure from the EU. The regime requires a firm to carry out detailed risk assessments and stress test scenarios to ensure they hold enough resources to cover risks.
3. D; See R01 Study Text, Chp 1; Rationale: Building societies are owned by their account holders and do not have shareholders to pay dividends to. They were originally set up to loan money to buy houses.
4. A; See R01 Study Text, Chp 6; Rationale: One of the FCA High level standards is ‘Systems and Controls’ (SYSC 3). SYSC 3 lists the systems and controls (appropriate to their business) which a firm should establish and maintain. Each of these is further detailed in the common platform requirements SYSC 4 to 10A.
5. A; See R01 Study Text, Chp 6; Rationale: A credit reference agency holds information about a person’s credit history. Under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, these agencies must disclose the information held about a consumer and correct it if it is inaccurate. All other answers are false.

Grab the resources you need!

R01 can feel straightforward until you see how regulation and ethics topics are tested under exam conditions. If you’d like to preview how our full R01 E-Mocks present these areas, access the free R01 E-Mocks taster to see the question style, layout and level of detail included in the complete set.

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