The Financial Services Practitioner Panel (the Panel) has today published its Annual Report for the period 2005/6. Roy Leighton, Chairman of the Panel said:
"While the FSA has made good recent progress in a number of areas, the Panel's overall sense is that firms are somewhat disappointed by the perceived lack of significant improvement in the way they are regulated – and there is almost a feeling of resignation on their part about what they fear might be coming next. The FSA acknowledges that there is more to do to help firms understand what the muchheralded move to a more principlesbased approach means for them; and in securing the industry's confidence in how it will be applied in practice.
"The Panel sees the shift to a more principlesbased regime as having many advantages for firms and, ultimately, for their customers. But there are challenges ahead for all concerned. In this context, the Panel urges the FSA to put our experience and expertise to best use as it seeks to develop and deliver its 2010 vision. In the meantime, we are delighted that the FSA is investing heavily in staff training to enable supervisors and policymakers to make consistent, pragmatic and proportionate judgements against a riskbased backdrop.
"We shall continue to encourage the industry to play its part in embracing the FSA's Better Regulation and 2010 agendas – from senior management through to their compliance teams. There is also an onus on the industry to be proactive in the development of market solutions and, where required, the production of codes and by raising standards. At the same time, the positive and sensible messages we often hear from Sir Callum McCarthy and John Tiner must be properly translated and understood right the way down the FSA organisation."
The Annual Report summarises the Panel's work over the preceding 12 months and sets out its priorities for the year ahead. As well as containing further information on those issues mentioned above, it includes commentary on the Treating Customers Fairly initiative; the recently published
Costs of Regulation study; the Panel's ongoing Survey of Regulated Firms; the FSA's work and influence in the international arena, the FSA's use of its enforcement powers; the application of caveat emptor; and MIFID/CRD implementation.
Notes for editors
The Financial Services Practitioner Panel was established under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to represent the interests of practitioners and is independent of the FSA. Members are drawn from regulated institutions and market users at a senior level. Membership rotates to ensure a balance between consistency and new input. The Panel was set up on a nonstatutory basis in November 1998 (as the Practitioner Forum) and became a statutory body in June 2001.
The current members of the Panel are: Roy Leighton, Chairman, Nymex Europe Limited (Chairman); Jonathan Bloomer, Managing Director, Cerberus UK Advisers LLP (Deputy Chairman); Alan Ainsworth, Former Deputy Chairman, Threadneedle Asset Management;
Matthew Bullock, Chief Executive, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society; Russell Collins, Head of Financial Services Practice, Deloitte UK; Clara Furse, Chief Executive, London Stock Exchange; Douglas Gardner, Distribution Director, Positive Solutions; Mark
Rothery, Chief Executive, Ancient Order of Foresters Friendly Society; (Chairman of the Smaller Businesses Practitioner Panel); Colin Keogh, Group Chief Executive, Close Brothers Group; Gordon Pell, Executive Chairman, Retail Markets, Royal Bank of Scotland Group;
Nick Prettejohn, Chief Executive, UK Insurance, Prudential; Andrew Ross, Chief Executive, Cazenove Fund Management; Patrick Snowball, Group Executive Director, Aviva UK; Alan Yarrow, Vice Chairman, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.
Further information on the role and work of the Panel are available on its website: www.fspp.org.uk
The FSA's website address is: www.fsa.gov.uk.