(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/ekhWg)
It could be “all change” at the financial services authority if a conservative government gets into power later this year.
Senior conservative MP’s have confirmed that the role of the city watchdog would dramatically change if they came into power.
If elected banking supervision would be transferred from the FSA to the bank of England. The FSA have come under severe scrutiny over the last few years, especially due to the UK banking crisis.
The FSA have had a difficult week with its head (Hector Sants) resigning along with accusations of poor controls and issues regarding the proposed retail distribution review.
Mr Hoban a conservative shadow treasury spokesman said “We want the Bank to take responsibility for macro and micro prudential supervision in the first year,” Mr Hoban said in an interview with the Financial Times. Mr Hoban acknowledged that the plan had encountered significant resistance in the City in the seven months since it was proposed by George Osborne, the shadow chancellor.
There are concerns in the city that a large scale restructuring of financial regulation could cause problems.
Mr Hoban said the Tories had no intention of waiting several years before enacting the reforms. He admitted that the proposed Consumer Protection Agency to take on the FSA’s customer-related work might add to the cost of regulation. “We want to move away from a situation where the FSA is cleaning up the mess after it happens.”
Consilium Asset Management
