Committee takes evidence on FCA restructuring and independent inquiry
8 December 2014
The Financial Conduct Authority has today announced a wide-ranging internal restructuring following a strategic review. The FCA has also announced that the independent inquiry – conducted by Simon Davis of Clifford Chance – into the handling of an announcement [in March 2014] regarding a review of the life insurance industry will be published on Wednesday 10 December.
Committee Meeting details
The Committee will take evidence at 4.15pm on Wednesday 10 December 2014, Grimond Room, Portcullis House, on the independent inquiry conducted by Simon Davis.
Witness
- Simon Davis, Partner, Clifford Chance
Andrew Tyrie MP's comments
Serious concerns have been raised – not least in Parliament – about the way that the FCA has approached its responsibilities since it was formed in April 2013. At first glance the changes announced today look substantial. The Treasury Committee and others will need to examine in detail the FCA’s strategic review, and this consequent restructuring, to see whether they address the concerns raised.
The FCA needs to exercise judgement to secure much better outcomes for consumers, not least by engaging more with the regulated community, by increasing competition and, where necessary, enforcing higher standards. It is on that basis that the review should be judged.
It is also crucial that the FCA learns any lessons that emerge from Mr Davis’s report. The Treasury Committee was instrumental in ensuring that the apparent major error by the FCA in March 2014 was subject to independent external review. The Committee intends to take evidence on both the pre-briefing inquiry and the strategic review in the coming weeks, initially from Mr Davis on his report on Wednesday afternoon.