Financial Services Authority
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Financial Services Authority
About the FSA
The Financial Services Authority is the single UK statutory regulator directly responsible for the regulation of deposit taking, insurance and investment business. It is also the UK competent authority (the Listing Authority) for the admission of securities to the official list.It has taken over the powers and responsibilities of ten predecessor bodies including the Personal Investment Authority, Securities and Futures Authority & Investment Management Regulatory Organisation business amongst others.
Its aim is to maintain efficient, orderly and clean financial markets and help retail consumers achieve a fair deal.
The FSA has four statutory objectives under the Financial Services and Markets Act:
- maintaining confidence in the financial system
- promoting public understanding of the financial system
- securing the appropriate degree of protection for consumers
- reducing financial crime
The FSA takes a radically different approach to regulation to that of its predecessors. It is moving towards a regime which focuses on the risks to the FSA's objectives arising from any source, be they individual institutions, particular market sectors, trends in consumer understanding and behaviour, or macroeconomic factors. Their approach is built on a clear statement of the realistic aims and limits of regulation, in particular that the FSA does not aim to prevent all failure. The FSA recognises the proper responsibilities of consumers themselves, and of firms' own managements founded on a risk-based approach to the regulation of all financial business; and uses the full range of tools available to the FSA under the FSM Act, including consumer education.
The FSA is an independent non-government body financed by levies on the industry. It is accountable to Treasury Ministers and through them to Parliament. The FSA must report annually on the achievement of its statutory objectives to the Treasury, which is required to lay the Report before Parliament.
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