The FCA has vowed to become a “smarter regulator”, improve its processes and embrace technology as part of its five-year strategy released today.
The regulator says the aim of its new plan is to deepen trust, rebalance risk, support growth and improve lives.
Further pledges the FCA has commited to include supporting sustained economic growth, by enabling investment, innovation and ensuring the continued competitiveness of the UK’s financial services; helping consumers to navigate their financial lives by working with industry to boost trust and product innovation; and fighting financial crime.
The policy sets out how the regulator will change how it supervises to be more efficient, including taking a less intensive approach for those firms seeking to do the right thing, “significantly streamlining how it sets its supervisory priorities, and reviewing whether it can stop requiring certain data returns.”
It also commits to digitising and simplifying the authorisation processes so it is easier and quicker to apply, the information received is better quality and follow-up requests are reduced.
FCA chair Ashley Alder says the regulator wants to deepen trust in financial services.
“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,” says Alder.
FCA chief executive Nikhil Rathi says: “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 5 years. This strategy sets out our priorities, how we’ll become more efficient and effective and make the choices that shape the financial system.
“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.”
