Credicorp

FCA (Financial Conduct Authority)

The FCA, or Financial Conduct Authority, is the UK's conduct regulator for financial services. It authorises and supervises firms that carry on regulated activities, sets rules on how they must treat customers, and can take enforcement action. Its consumer-credit remit is focused on protecting individual borrowers — consumers — rather than businesses borrowing as separate legal persons.

What it regulates: Consumer credit and most retail financial services provided to individuals.
Where its consumer-credit perimeter ends: Lending to a body corporate — a limited company or LLP — generally falls outside it.
Legal basis for the boundary: Articles 60B and 60L of the FSMA Regulated Activities Order 2001.

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The consumer-credit perimeter

"The perimeter" is the boundary of what the FCA regulates. Consumer-credit regulation exists to protect individuals, so it applies to lending to consumers and, in some cases, very small unincorporated traders. Lending to a limited company or an LLP — a separate legal person — sits on the far side of that boundary. The disclosure and conduct rules written for consumer credit are therefore not all engaged when the borrower is a company.

Exempt lending Exempt lending is credit that falls outside the UK consumer-credit regime. Lending to a body corporate — a limited company or LLP — is exempt under FSMA… Body corporate A body corporate is a legal entity, such as a limited company or LLP, that is separate in law from the people who own or run it — and is the kind of… FSMA RAO The FSMA Regulated Activities Order defines which financial activities are regulated in the UK. Articles 60B and 60L set the consumer-credit perimeter and… Responsible lending Responsible lending means lending only what a business can sensibly handle, being clear about cost, and supporting borrowers in difficulty. Credicorp… /legal/vulnerability/ How Credicorp, a UK business lender, supports customers going through a difficult time — vulnerability policy and support routes. Invoice finance Invoice finance lets a business raise funds against its unpaid invoices, releasing cash tied up in receivables before customers pay. It includes invoice… Late-payment fee A late-payment fee is a charge added when a scheduled payment is missed, typically after a failed Direct Debit collection. It is separate from interest… Collateral Collateral is an asset a borrower pledges to a lender as security for a loan. If the loan is not repaid, the lender can recover against the collateral.… Representative example A representative example illustrates the typical cost of a facility using a worked set of figures — amount, rate, fees and total repayable — so a borrower… UBO (ultimate beneficial owner) An ultimate beneficial owner is the individual who ultimately owns or controls a company — typically anyone holding more than 25% — identified and…

Articles 60B and 60L

Article 60B of the FSMA Regulated Activities Order defines regulated credit agreements, and Article 60L sets out exemptions, including the treatment of borrowing by bodies corporate. Together they are the legal basis on which lending to UK companies and LLPs sits outside the consumer-credit regime. This is a feature of how the law is drawn, not a gap or a loophole.

Where FCA references still apply

Even though Credicorp's lending is outside the FCA's consumer-credit perimeter, FCA authorisation matters in other contexts. Where our guides point a business toward independent financial advice, they recommend using an FCA-authorised IFA or broker, because that protection is real and worth having. The scoping is important: the FCA regulates the adviser, not Credicorp's body-corporate lending.

The FCA and Credicorp

Credicorp lends only to UK limited companies and LLPs, not to consumers or sole traders, so its lending sits outside the FCA's consumer-credit perimeter under Articles 60B and 60L of the FSMA RAO. We are not authorised for consumer credit and do not represent ourselves as such. We do, however, apply many recognised lending standards voluntarily. Credicorp is an independent UK lender, not affiliated with Credicorp Inc of Peru, Credit Corp of Australia, or any other Credicorp entity outside the United Kingdom (Company No. 16093826; ICO ZC157682).

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