A new policy aimed at making the FSA's enforcement process more transparent and fair takes effect from today.
The policy reflects the recommendations of the FSA's enforcement process review, published this summer, which required changes to the FSA Handbook.
The review was commissioned in February by the FSA board after aspects of its enforcement process were criticised by the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal, and because it was evident that many affected by enforcement actions had doubts about the fairness of the process.
One controversial proposal was that the FSA would introduce a scheme giving discounts to financial penalties for early settlement.
The FSA said was proceeding with the scheme as it believes the principle of giving specific incentives for early settlement is a sound one. However, it said that in light of feedback, it has changed the discounts for the three stages to 30%, 20% and 10% (from 30%, 15% and 5%).
The FSA said a majority of recommendations did not need to be consulted on and that a number of them had been implemented immediately. It added that a cross-FSA team is on schedule to implement the remainder of the recommendations by the year-end.
Margaret Cole, FSA director of enforcement, said: "I see this as a process of continuous improvement – we recognise that the industry we regulate does not stand still and that we cannot afford to either."
Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
