The FCA said it would focus on being a smarter regulator that was “predictable, purposeful and proportionate”. It plans to use technology, be more efficient and effective, and improve its processes.
It will also back economic growth through the enablement of investment and navigation.
The FCA wants to improve the financial lives of consumers by working with the financial services sector to boost trust and product innovation and make sure people have the right information and help to make financial decisions.
It will also focus on fighting financial crime, particularly those who use their regulatory status to do harm. The FCA said it will “go further to disrupt criminals and support firms to be an effective line of defence”.
The regulator said it would take a “less intensive approach” against firms trying to do the right thing by streamlining their supervisory priorities and look at whether it can stop requiring certain data returns. The FCA said it would digitise and simplify authorisation processes to make it easier and quicker to apply while ensuring the information received is “better quality” and there are fewer follow-up requests.
Shawbrook is the specialist mortgage sector’s ‘best kept secret’ – Sard
Sponsored by Shawbrook Bank
The FCA will also invest in its technology, people and systems to better handle the 100,000 cases its supervisors assess each year. The regulator said this would allow it to “act faster and more assertively where harm is greatest”.
This plan builds on what the regulator achieved through its previous three-year strategy, which included changes to the listing regime – which made it easier for companies to raise money – the introduction of Consumer Duty and authorising firms that meet its standards faster.
The regulator going further
Ashley Alder, chair of the FCA, said: “We want to deepen trust in financial services and shift our collective attitude across financial services to risk. Too often, the focus has been on the risks of a decision taken rather than the lost opportunity of taking none. We want to change that so we can spur growth and improve lives.”
Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the FCA, added: “Our last strategy set high standards and bolstered our operational effectiveness. We are committed to going much further, delivering at pace to meet the scale of change we are facing over the next five years.
“This strategy sets out our priorities, how we’ll become more efficient and effective and make the choices that shape the financial system.”
He said: “Our four priorities reinforce one another and we look forward to collaborating with our partners as we become a smarter regulator, support growth, help consumers and fight crime.
“We are ambitious for the future and committed to enabling a fair and thriving financial services market for the good of consumers and the economy.”
