The ABI today insisted that the FSA improve its enforcement procedures, saying the regulator...
The ABI today insisted that the FSA improve its enforcement procedures, saying the regulator must provide "greater transparency, objectivity and certainty."
The comments came in response to the regulator's Enforcement Process Review Issues Paper, published in March.
The ABI propose:
· The FSA should make more effective use of its normal supervision of firms before embarking on specific enforcement action, as outlined in the Hampton review.
· The FSA should improve the quality of its investigatory work, ensuring its enforcement staff have the best possible knowledge of the industry and its issues.
· The FSA must be fair, and seen to be fair. It must demonstrate more openly that the work of the Regulatory Decisions Committee (RDC) is "independent, fair and robust". Firms being investigated are entitled to know precisely what evidence has been presented about them to the RDC by FSA officials and given adequate opportunities to respond.
Peter Vipond, the ABI's director of financial regulation and taxation, said: “FSA enforcement procedures need to command greater confidence within the regulated community.
“The FSA will need to address specific industry concerns about its tendency to build a general case on the basis of a very small number of cases and its willingness to apply some standards retrospectively.”