FCA Handbook - CASS 7.12 Organisational requirements: client money

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CASS 7.12 Organisational requirements: client money

Requirement to protect client money

A firm must, when holding client money, make adequate arrangements to safeguard the client's rights and prevent the use of client money for its own account.

[Note: article 16(9) of MiFID]

Requirement to have adequate organisational arrangements

A firm must introduce adequate organisational arrangements to minimise the risk of the loss or diminution of client money, or of rights in connection with client money, as a result of misuse of client money, fraud, poor administration, inadequate record-keeping or negligence.

[Note: article 2(1)(f) of the MiFID Delegated Directive]

The risk of loss or diminution of rights in connection with client money can arise where a firm's organisational arrangements give rise to the possibility that client money held by the firm may be paid for the account of a client whose money is yet to be received by the firm. Consistent with the requirement to hold client money as trustee (see CASS 7.17.5 G), a firm should ensure its organisational arrangements are adequate to minimise such a risk. This may include, for example, allowing for sufficient periods of time for payments of client money to the firm to become available for use (including automated payments, credit card payments and payments by cheque), and setting up safeguards to ensure that payments out of client bank accounts do not take effect before the relevant amount of client money has become available for use by the firm.