The FCA’s Mission Statement
- Click here to read Mission Statement
THE Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) laid out the way it plans to regulate financial firms with the publication of The Mission.
The FCA said it had a complex remit with limited resources, and that outlining its intentions would help communicate where it would intervene, and where it would not.
Perhaps one of the key areas acknowledged by the FCA that will affect leasing brokers was in the area of harm, where it would consider the effects on both the UK the economy and market integrity.
The FCA said: “Generally, when we identify issues in a firm or market segment we consider making more tailored interventions through our individual supervision or investigatory work with firms.
“Where we identify market-wide problems, this will lead us to consider possible interventions of market design, tackling restrictions to entering or leaving the market and redress. We can tailor action in any of these areas to fit with a subsequent focus on individual firm work.”
The Mission is currently in consultation, the FCA wanting “stakeholders to engage with us”.
Andrew Bailey, FCA chief executive, said: “Our Mission will set out a framework within which we prioritise our work, ensuring we focus our resources in the right places. This will improve accountability and transparency of how and why we make the choices that we do.”
Here’s an outline of the FCA’s key themes:
- Protecting consumers – in an environment where consumers are increasingly expected to take responsibility for their own financial decisions, what is the right level of consumer protection; and how does the FCA balance the responsibilities of firms and consumers?
- Vulnerable consumers – should the FCA prioritise the protection of vulnerable consumers and if so how?
Delivering consumer redress – what should the role of the FCA be in redress schemes, for example in dealing with activity outside the FCA’s remit? - When the FCA intervenes – how the FCA identifies harm and how it decides which approach to take to address it; and how can the FCA be clearer for firms, consumers and stakeholders on what it is doing and why?
- The scope of regulation – explaining the remit the FCA has for taking action and the circumstances in which the FCA may intervene with regard to unregulated activities;
- The interaction between regulation and public policy – explaining this interaction using examples including access to financial services and price discrimination;
- Competition, supervision and enforcement – providing clarity and seeking feedback on the FCA’s current approach to using its different regulatory powers and tools;
- FCA Handbook – seeking suggestions on a proposed review of the FCA Handbook which sets out the rules for firms.
