FCA vows to speed up decision making
The City regulator has promised to speed up its decision making processes, as it aims to introduce a series of new rules over the coming months.
Speaking at City and Financial Global: The Future of UK Financial Services Regulation Summit, Sarah Pritchard, executive director of markets at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said that “we know we need to do more to speed up some of our decision making.”
She added that the regulator is committed to speeding up its approach to authorisations, and noted that the backlog for pending authorisations has reduced by 40 per cent in the last year.
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Pritchard also revealed that the FCA is currently trialling automated application forms for companies “which are easier to understand and quicker for us to assess”.
The FCA has come under fire for its slow authorisation process, with some peer-to-peer lending platforms waiting for more than two years to receive final approvals.
In her speech, Pritchard also said that the FCA supports the government’s plans to introduce the post-Brexit Future Regulatory Framework “to ensure that we can tailor our rules to suit our markets”.
“One area we are looking at transforming is the advice and guidance rules,” she said.
“MiFID was introduced 15 years ago and had a clear distinction between advice and guidance.
“Offering advice on what to invest in carries with it a heavy regulatory burden. A full suitability assessment – in effect an in-depth MoT of a customer’s personal financial situation – is needed from a qualified financial advisor.
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“Because of the costs involved, only the relatively well-off can access advice on what to invest in. Mass market consumers are often left to navigate a bewilderingly large choice with little support.”
This review was welcomed by Anne Fairweather, head of government affairs and public policy at Hargreaves Lansdown, who called it “a big opportunity to demonstrate how innovation and data analytics can guide people with their financial choices.
“We see this as a crucial step to help savers and investors in the cost-of-living crisis and support the nation as we rebuild our financial resilience in the longer term,” Fairweather added.
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