The UK Financial Regulators

Abstract

Abstract This introductory chapter traces the evolution of the UK financial regulatory system and provides an overview of the UK financial regulators. Following the introduction of the Financial Services Act 1986, the Securities and Investments Board (SIB) was established as the primary UK financial regulatory authority. However, a series of scandals shook the sector in the 1990s and brought public confidence in the SIB into question. The era of self-regulation was over. The SIB was renamed the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in 1997 and, in December 2001, the FSA received a host of new powers through the commencement of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). Subsequently, the Financial Services Act 2012 significantly amended the FSMA, abolishing the FSA and creating in its place two new regulators: the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). However, the FCA and the PRA are not the only UK financial regulators. Since 2001, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has acted as an adjudicator in disputes between financial services firms and UK consumers. Other regulators with discrete or overlapping areas of responsibility include the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), and the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers.