Jane Mayfield reports on the proposed reforms to financial regulation
In June, HM Treasury published its white paper on the proposed changes to the regulation of the financial sector. The new approach to financial regulation: the blueprint for reform provides detail on how the government proposes to strengthen the financial system by promoting the role of judgment and expertise.
The paper includes a draft financial services Bill which contains some of the provisions needed to give effect to the proposed reform by amending existing legislation, eg the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000) and the Bank of England Act 1998. This approach aims to minimise the extent to which regulated firms and other users of such legislation have to deal with changes, and to allow a more focused scrutiny of the proposed key changes to the regulatory regime by parliament and stakeholders.
The government proposes to establish a Financial Policy Committee (FPC), a Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), and a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Financial Policy Committee
The FPC will sit within the Bank of England. Its main objective will