FCA Faces Growing Calls for Overhaul Amid Criticism

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is under increasing pressure to undergo a significant overhaul due to mounting criticisms regarding its incompetence, dishonesty, lack of transparency, unaccountability, and overall lackluster performance. The FCA, which is one-half of the UK’s twin peak regulators alongside the Prudential Regulation Authority, has been heavily criticized in a parliamentary report for its uninspiring behavior. The FCA has admitted to inappropriately delaying the public’s freedom of information requests, which confirms the parliamentary accusations. Additionally, independent reviews have previously faulted the FCA for its handling of collapsed firms, such as London Capital & Finance and the Connaught Income Fund. Former city minister Lord Paul Myners has also been a vocal critic of the regulator, particularly for its lack of consciousness in detecting issues.