FCA chief recognises need for culture change
It is a positive sign that the head of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) sees the need for a cultural change in the financial sector, it has been noted.
Writing for FT Adviser, head of financial services and markets at Michelmores LLP Philip Ryley highlighted how the payment protection insurance (PPI) scandal is the sort of regulatory failure that Martin Wheatley – and the FCA – has been brought in to avoid in the future.
Mr Ryley said that Mr Wheatley appears to be aware of the need to move past outdated orthodoxies that have failed in the past and which have led many consumers to put in PPI reclaim requests.
He suggested that the FCA’s pro-active, interventionist stance should stand it in good stead, although he issued a note of concern regarding how the regulator will encourage innovation while protecting customers.
“For those of us who have witnessed several generations of regulator, it is difficult not to treat such visionary proclamations of a brave new world without a twinge of cynicism setting in. After all, regulators have not exactly achieved the expected outcomes in the past. So why should this one be any different?” asked Mr Ryley.
Mr Wheatley is due to head up the FCA when it comes into being this spring, but one person who will not be by his side when the new regulator takes charge is Margaret Cole, according to The Guardian.
The newspaper revealed that Ms Cole has been placed on gardening leave until August ahead of her departure from the Financial Services Authority, at which she led the team in charge of fighting crime.
Ms Cole had been interim head of the FCA for a period and Mr Wheatley said he is “enormously grateful” for her work.
