The FSA said in its Retail Conduct Risk Outlook paper last month that it expected to have a consultation paper on platforms out by the end of March but none has yet appeared.
When questioned when the paper was likely to appear, Clare Murphy-McGreevey, press officer at the FSA, said: “We have no fixed date for that, we had been hoping to put it out before the end of Q1”
She said the reason for the delay was that the FSA “need more time to look at all of the issues involved and make sure we’re getting it right.”
However, she said the proposal to ban rebates on platforms was still the FSA’s favoured option as this would improve transparency and prevent biases.
The proposal of banning cash rebates was initially put forward by the FSA in Consultation Paper CP10/29 in November 2010.
The FSA said: “Platform models that rely on rebates from providers could allow product bias and conflicts of interest to remain in the market. Such models can also prevent access to funds that do not pay rebates and can hinder transparency of charges.”