Uncertainty remains over post-FSA regulatory structure

The UK Financial Services Authority, which has overseen the UK banking industry since 1997, has weeks left to live. Its replacement agencies have promised a more aggressive approach – but what will the change mean in practice?

The coalition government that took office in the UK in 2010 developed two policy responses to the financial crisis. The economic downturn that followed the credit crunch of 2008 was to be resolved by an ‘austerity’ policy of deficit-cutting spending restrictions and tax increases, which would return the economy to steady growth by restoring business confidence.

And the reckless financial-sector malpractice that led up to the crunch was to be addressed by breaking up the Financial Services