FSA Info Part 4
FSA UK Background & Information part 4
Accountability and management
The Financial Services Authority is held accountable to Treasury Ministers and through these Ministers the FSA is accountable to the UK’s central government or Parliament. In operational terms the FSA is independent of Government and is funded completely by the companies it regulates through the fines, compulsory levies and fees charged.
The Board of the FSA consists of a Chairman, a Chief Operating Officer, a Chief Executive Officer, two Managing Directors and nine Non-Executive Directors, including a lead non-executive member, the Deputy Chairman. These Board members are selected by and subject to removal by Her Majesty’s Treasury.
Among those roles, the Deputy Governor for Financial Stability of the Bank of England is an ‘ex-officio’ Board member. The FSA Board decides on overall policy with everyday decisions and staff management being the responsibility of the Executive portion. This is divided into three parts each led by a Managing director and each has a responsibility over the following areas: Retail Markets, Wholesale and Institutional Markets, and Regulatory Services.
All regulatory decisions made by the FSA can be appealed by approaching the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal.
It is HM Treasury who decide upon the scope of activities which should be regulated but it is the FSA’s responsibility to decide what shape the regulatory approach should take in relation to any particular activities or companies they are dealing with.
The FSA is also provided with advice on the interests and concerns of consumers by the Financial Services Consumer Panel which describes itself as “An Independent Voice for Consumers of Financial Services”. Members of the Consumer Panel are appointed and can be dismissed by the FSA and any emails to them are directed to FSA employees. The Financial Services Consumer Panel will not address individual consumer complaints.
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Editor’s Note: So this consumer panel allegedly provides “an independent voice for consumers of financial services” and yet it “will not address individual consumer complaints”! Confused? We are. We believe 1700 consumer complaints should probably be sufficient to prevent the concerns of the Cameron Farley clients being seen as an “individual consumer complaint” but nothing surprises us any more. Perhaps we will give this avenue a shot as an early inroad into getting answers from the FSA. This will be up for discussion for all members in due course and all views are welcome on this.
To discuss this or any other issue relating to FSA UK Legal Action and the Cameron Farley Action Group, please make sure you take part in the FSA UK Legal Action Forum – This REALLY is an ‘independent voice’ for the clients of Cameron Farley Limited !
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To continue reading about the FSA please go to Page 5
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