The FCA is revamping itself to be more “assertive”
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has proposed changes to streamline its decision-making processes, in a bid to make it more efficient.
The financial watchdog said discussions have been held about moving some decision-making responsibility from its Regulatory Decisions Committee (RDC) to its Authorisations, Supervision and Enforcement divisions instead, in an announcement today.
The RDC, a committee of the FCA board, currently makes on behalf of the FCA.
The change would, it said, give more decision-making power directly to senior FCA staff instead and would allow it to expedite how it tackles firms and individuals who fall foul of its standards.
Some of the new decisions that will be made by FCA staff, according to the proposals, include the decision to commence civil or criminal proceedings, to impose requirements on firms or to take action in removing a firm’s permissions if it does not meet regulatory requirements.
Executive director of authorisations at the FCA, Emily Shepperd, said: “The proposed changes will allow us to be more efficient by making best use of the breadth of expertise across the FCA and by putting certain decisions back to the subject matter experts.”
She said they would increase speed, reduce costs and ensure more accountability in those areas as the FCA undergoes a transformation to “become a forward looking, proactive regulator – one that is tough, assertive, confident, decisive and agile.”