1.04.13
FsA abolished and replaced by FCA and PRA
The City has a new behavioural watchdog in the form of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A second new organisation, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), which is part of the Bank of England, is tasked with looking after all deposit-taking institutions, insurers and investment banks.
The FCA is headed by Martin Wheatley, who said in a speech last year that, in the wake of the outrage over mis-selling, that his policy would be shoot first and ask questions later. The FCA's published aims include:-
1. Banning misleading financial promotions and removing them immediately from the market
2. Making supervisory judgements about a firm's business model and strategy and intervening if it sees unacceptable risks to the fair treatment of customers
3. Allocating fewer supervisors to specific firms but reacting to problems faster and carrying out more in-depth reviews across a particular sector or market
4. Bringing more enforcement cases with tougher penalties
5. Holding senior managers to account and pursuing criminal prosecutions.
Legal Disclaimer
Articles are intended as an introduction to the topic and do not constitute legal advice.