One-third of City firms have flawed continuity planning, says FSA

The FSA, the UK financial services watchdog, said yesterday that about 4,000 of the 11,500 firms it regulates need to improve their business continuity arrangements.

An FSA spokesman warned that although the regulator was satisfied with the continuity standards of the top 35 City firms, it was imperative for all financial companies to ensure they had sufficient back-up procedures to cope with disasters such as terrorist attacks. Michael Foot, a managing director at the FSA, said: “None of us can afford to be complacent about the challenges that inevitably arise in an environment where the potential threat is so great.”

The FSA cited its own business