Upcoming election leading regulatory paralysis in UK financial services
Share
Regulation expert Wolters Kluwer Financial Services has warned that confusion over the next general election has meant the UK financial services industry is in danger of slipping into regulatory paralysis.
The firm says that conflicting messages from political parties, from the Tories’ pledge to scrap the Financial Services Authority to business secretary Peter Mandelson’s call for an “iron cage of regulatory are causing firms to doubt what approach to take to regulatory issues.
But it says initiatives like Solvency II, the Retail Distribution Review and Mortgage Market Review are still going forward, with mixed progress made by the industry.
Dean Curtis, UK managing director at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, says: “The UK financial services industry is – understandably – confused about how to deal with the regulatory challenges between now and the general election. As a result, a kind of collective inertia appears to be settling over many firms, with potentially damaging consequences.
“While we are living in confusing times, financial services firms cannot afford to fall behind in terms of their compliance strategies and processes. A clear and consistent approach to compliance remains essential.”
If you enjoyed this article, sign up here to receive daily email updates from Mortgage Strategy and Follow @mortgagestrat
