FSA boss exit 'couldn't come at a worse time'

The decision by FSA chief executive Hector Sants to step down “couldn’t come at a worse time”, according to critics.

DAC Beachcroft law firm regulatory partner Matthew Rutter said: “Hector Sants was the key element of continuity as the FSA is split up to form the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. His resignation before the new regime is properly in place leaves a huge void, and couldn’t come at a worse time for regulated firms. 

“It creates great uncertainty around what the new regulatory regime will mean, especially as so many other senior employees at the FSA have recently moved on as well. 

“The immediate regulatory outlook was largely a model shaped by Sants, and no-one really knows what his successors have in mind as up till now they’ve very much operated in his shadow. 

“I imagine it will also be very unsettling within the FSA, and the danger will be that others there lose focus or leave as well.”