On 6 September 2011, the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) submitted its response to the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) discussion paper titled “The Financial Conduct Authority: Approach to Regulation”. The FSA paper sets out how the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is expected to be established by the end of 2012, proposes to approach conduct of business regulation.
In its response (click here for a copy), the CII broadly supports the approach that the FCA proposes to take. The CII makes a number of suggestions in its response, including the following:
(i) under the new regime, supervisors must distinguish between those firms and practitioners that make a demonstrable commitment to professionalism, through a verified commitment to qualifications, continuing learning and a code of ethics, and those that do not;
(ii) supervisors should take note of the term ‘Chartered’ as part of their assessment of the culture of firms;
(iii) supervisors should take account of the Aldermanbury Declaration, a voluntary commitment in general insurance to raise professional standards;
(iv) more consultation is required to get the right balance between consumer protection, trust and choice; and
(v) to ensure a consistent strategic view, a committee of representatives of the Prudential Regulation Authority and the FCA should be established to oversee and be responsible for the regulators’ international engagement.
