FSA Business Plan Focuses on Principles-based Regulation
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) recently published its Business Plan for 2007/8, which sets out its priorities for the coming year. The plan focuses on the organisation’s move towards more principles-based regulation (MPBR). The document also outlines increased spending on financial capability and key investments to be made in people, information systems and the way the FSA regulates, to facilitate the change towards MPBR. As detailed in the Business Plan, the main priorities for wholesale for 2007/8 are on implementing and influencing EU legislation, such as MiFID and Solvency II, and increasing focus on the prevention, detection and prosecution of market abuse and other forms of financial crime. The FSA’s retail work centres on making the market more effective and the main priorities will continue to be Treating Customers Fairly (TCF), Financial Capability, the review of retail distribution and payment protection insurance. New initiatives are limited and include work on the impact of climate change on the financial services markets, an assessment of how older consumers are served by the financial services market and a review of the risks within the commodities markets. The 2007/8 budget shows an overall increase of 10.1%, resulting in a rise in the Annual Funding Requirement (the amount raised from firms) of 9.5%.