"The FCA should act swiftly to sweep away the confusing mishmash of disclosures and put in place a fair and transparent framework.”
Cost
As expected since the June 2016 vote to leave the European Union, and subsequent Queen's Speeches, the government has always intended to unravel EU-led legislation and free up UK financial services to govern itself.
It makes sense, given how different the advice market is in the UK from Europe, where bancassurers and agents operate very differently from regulated independent financial advisers in the UK.
But when you think about the immense cost to the industry (and even to the FCA and its antecedents the FSA et al) in having to implement these regulations over the past 20 to 30 years, the mind boggles.
How much compliance cost has gone into implementing these regulations? And how much more will be spent in undoing all of these?
Just as firms are grappling with consumer duty, they must undo what they have already done, and then start again from scratch.
It also begs the question of where this leaves the FCA. As FTAdviser (and Financial Adviser before it) has intimated for many years since Brexit, is the Treasury going to unveil an overhaul not just of the regime but the figurehead of the regulatory regime?
Will the FCA even be called the FCA in 2024?
I guess when you're throwing stuff onto a bonfire, you have to be careful not to get burned yourself.
Simoney Kyriakou is editor of FTAdviser
