The ABI has given a guarded welcome to the government’s bill to implement its overhaul of financial services regulation.
ABI director general Otto Thoresen said: “It is good news that the government has recognised that insurance must be given proper consideration in the new regulatory structure. This is something we have been calling for, and we are pleased that there will be a distinct insurance industry objective built into prudential regulation.
“We are also pleased that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will have to promote competition, as this is the something that the industry had raised concerns about. We had hoped for more substantive proposals about exactly how the Financial Ombudsman Service will work with the FCA, so we look forward to consulting further with the Government on this important point. We had hoped for more clarity on how the FOS will work with the FSA.
“There will need to be clear detail about how the Prudential Regulation Authority and FCA should work together to make sure there is no overlap, gaps or confusion if we are all to make this work.”
Beachcroft financial services partner Mathew Rutter said: "Although we have the core provisions of the bill, other, more detailed provisions have yet to be drafted. We've got most of the pieces of the jigsaw, but not yet the full picture.
"There's still a lot of hurdles to be cleared before everything is in place. The bill has to go through pre-legislative scrutiny as well as the full Parliamentary process, so we can expect many changes in the drafting. No doubt those who have been disappointed by the bill today will soon be lobbying hard with potential amendments.”
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