The FCA is mulling a shake-up of its decision-making process that it says will improve the speed at which it clamps down on firms that do not meet the required standards.
The watchdog is consulting on whether to transfer some decision-making powers from its Regulatory Decisions Committee (RDC) to its Authorisations, Supervision and Enforcement Divisions. It said this would ‘”give greater responsibility for decisions to senior members of FCA staff close to the matters”.
Letting subject matter experts decide
FCA executive director of authorisations 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. As a result of that there will be greater accountability in those areas.”
“The changes will help to increase the speed and reduce the regulatory costs of dealing with firms and individuals that fail to meet the FCA standards,” she added.
Follows string of scandals
The FCA has come under fire in recent years, not least for its handling of the London Capital & Finance collapse and the Woodford implosion.
More broadly the watchdog has been criticised for the speed at which it cracks down on fraudsters and rogue players in financial markets.
The regulator acknowledged its flaws in September last year when then interim chief executive Christopher Woolard said: “We know we have more to do.”
More recently, Nikhil Rathi promised a regulator that was more “proactive,” in his first business plan since he took office as chief executive.
‘Move quickly to prevent harm’
The regulator’s said its latest plans would streamline decision-making and governance so that it can “move more quickly to stop and prevent harm faster”.
“As part of our transformation we will continue to take a fresh approach to tackle firms and individuals who do not meet the required standards. As part of this, we aim to become a forward looking, proactive regulator – one that is tough, assertive, confident, decisive and agile,” said Shepperd.
Specifically, the proposals state that certain decisions will now be made by FCA staff and not the RDC, including: imposing a requirement on a firm, or adjusting its permissions; making final decisions as to a firm’s application for authorisation; making a final decision to cancel a firm’s permissions; and decisions to start civil or criminal proceedings.
The RDC will continue to make decisions regarding controversial cases, where the FCA plans to propose disciplinary action or seek to impose a prohibition order, according to the watchdog.
The FCA aims to publish a policy statement on its restructuring in November 2021.
On Wednesday, the regulator also announced plans to push for better diversity disclosures for listed company boards.
