Processes used by the financial services regulators to make enforcement decisions are to be reviewed, the Government has recently announced. 

Financial services regulators have a wide range of enforcement powers, including the power to fine firms and individuals and the power to ban individuals from operating in the financial services industry.

In addition, the regulators have considerable flexibility within broad statutory parameters to design their respective administrative processes to support the exercise of these powers.

The review will therefore consider whether the regulators’ institutional arrangements and processes for using these enforcement powers allow them to achieve the right balance between fairness, transparency, speed and efficiency.

The review is the latest in a series of steps the Government has taken to strengthen accountability in the financial services industry.

It has already taken what it describes as “tough and decisive action” to stop inappropriate behaviour in the industry and to ensure wrongdoers are held to account, including:

• bringing the setting of LIBOR under the scope of regulation,
• making misleading statements in relation to LIBOR a criminal offence,
• and legislating for a tougher approval regime for senior bankers with the threat of jail if their actions are proven to be reckless and lead to the failure of the bank they manage.

The review, which begins with a call for evidence, is due to report to the Chancellor in the autumn.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v2.0.

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