Industry body calls for ‘clear-out’ at FSA

The Financial Services Authority has
come under heavy criticism from Roy Leighton, the chairman of the
Financial Services Practitioner Panel,
after he called for a clear-out of ‘dead wood’ at the regulator.

A report by the FSPP said that overall industry satisfaction levels with the
FSA had shown little or no improvement in the past two years.

It called for personnel changes and claimed that some of the less senior
officials had a box-ticking approach and an unhelpful attitude.

‘There is undoubtedly some dead wood there,’ Leighton said. ‘They’re not able
to make the qualitative decisions [necessary in a principles-based regulatory
regime] when they have been used to box-ticking.’

John
Tiner, the chief executive of the FSA, said: ‘Regulation is, by its nature,
unlikely to be popular with the regulated.’

The FSPP is an independent statutory body created under the Financial
Services and Markets Act, with its remit to consult with the FSA on policy and
communicate the industry’s views and concerns.

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