Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) CEO Nikhil Rathi has committed to building a more assertive FCA which test its powers to the limit.
Speaking about the regulator’s ongoing approach, Rathi said he would continue “to build a more assertive FCA.”
“Our instinct will be to test our powers to the limit,” he said.
“To act decisively—and to be clear about what we’re doing, why we’re doing it and where the limitations lie.
“And even where we don’t have powers, we won’t turn a blind eye.”
As part of this approach, Rathi revealed the regulator has appointed a new executive director for authorisations, Emily Shepperd, and recruited around 100 additional authorisations staff.
It has also set up what it termed a regulatory nursery which will act as a form of early-warning system monitoring firms doing entirely new types of business and operating as fully regulated entities for the first time.
And it has introduced a new regulatory scalebox, as recommended in the Kalifa Review and is consulting on how a new duty of care for consumers can be reflected in FCA rules and guidance.
But Rathi also committed assessing the state of perimeter of FCA powers.
“I have been clear since day one that in my view if a case falls outside this jurisdiction, it should not mean that we simply stand by,” Rathi said.
“While we must prioritise use of our resources on individual cases, where we cannot act, we should use our insights so that suspect activity can be stopped and punished by our partner agencies.
“And I am pleased that the government has agreed to jointly assess the state of our perimeter each year.”