FCA to act even earlier to counter charges of ‘retrospective regulation'

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said it will look to take even earlier pre-emptive action against what it believes is bad practice in a bid to counter accusations from the industry that it unfairly employs retrospective regulation.

The regulator used its early intervention powers 31 times in 2014, up from 14 in the previous 12 months. Now this figure looks set to rise even further, in what is likely to be an unexpected consequence of complaints from the industry that the FCA has a habit of applying a more demanding standard or interpretation of its rules after the event. The concern most often raised by financial firms was that "previous inaction [by the regulator] suggested either approval or regulatory indifference", the FCA said. Firms had "taken this as a sign that they could continue, for example, sellin...