The FSA fine imposed on former Millfield chief executive Paul Tebbutt could herald a wider clampdown on senior managers by the regulator’s enforcement division, says a specialist financial law firm.
TLT Solicitors head of financial services regulation Philip Ryley says the FSA’s transition to principle-based regulation and its treating customers Fairly regime are leading to an increased focus on senior managers’ responsibility. Tebbutt was fined 35,000 by the FSA last month for providing misleading information. He failed to alert the regulator that the 3m funding that had been promised to plug any deficits when Millfield merged with financial adviser group Inter-Alliance could not be provided. Ryley says FSA head of enforcement Margaret Cole has indicated that the regulator will take an uncompromising approach to failure at senior management level. He predicts that this will result in an increase in enforcement action against senior managers. Ryley says: “The FSA has said recently that it will be bold and resolute with enforcement. If the FSA does not take action against senior management after all its tough talk, then it will lose credibility.”View more on these topicsNews
Live cover gap static as IP divide widens
Swiss Re’s annual industry protection report reveals that the life assurance protection gap remained static at £2.3 trillion in 2005/6 for the first time ever but the income protection gap grew to £170bn.
More whitewash?
It looks as if we could still be in for years more of argument over pensions
CI is irrelevant to today’s conditions, says Cowman
Critical-illness cover is stuck in the past and innovation is needed to ensure products are relevant to consumers, says Prudential head of protection Paul Cowman. He says medical advances have brought the need to revamp the product as definitions drawn up 20 years ago no longer relate to today. Pru is introducing a product at […]
Nationwide says big firms won’t enter equity release for three years
Nationwide is warning hat it might take another three years before the major lenders launch full-scale equity- release products. Chief executive Philip Williamson says he is concerned that Nationwide could become embroiled in a missell-ing scandal if it enters the market too soon. He fears that consumers could complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service that […]
White paper — Qatar International Insights
Jelf Employee Benefits highlights new legislation, key requirements and policy considerations when structuring international private medical insurance (IPMI) for expatriate employees in Qatar. This edition will be of particular interest to global human resource directors, compensation and benefits specialists and mobility managers who have employee populations in Qatar.
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Savers rush to top-up pensions amid Budget tinkering fears
Savers are rushing to top-up their pensions amid fears chancellor Philip Hammond will deliver a further cut to the annual allowance in this month’s Budget, Zurich says. Cash flowing into pensions on Zurich’s investment platform soared 98 per cent in September compared to the annual average, the firm has found. The value of one-off pension […]
Financial education creates five-fold return on investment, study finds
Every pound spent on financial education initiates can create more than £5 in social value, a new study finds. Research firm ERS examined the impact of “survival” money management workshops delivered to more than a thousand 16-25-year olds who were either not in work, full-time education or training, or had care responsibilities. They found that […]
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Tom Selby: New DB transfer rules under the microscope
Despite pressure to come down on the market like a ton of bricks, the FCA has taken a measured approach to improving standards Another week, another barrage of headlines about an FCA intervention on defined benefit pension transfers. The regulator’s latest missive focuses squarely on the standards and processes advisers employ when carrying out pension […]