The FCA Business Plan 2020/2021
On 7 April 2020, the FCA published its three year business plan and while the plan details its intended focus, planning this year had been complicated due to the coronavirus pandemic. While the business plan sets out the FCA’s priority areas over the next one to three years, it states that work will be taken forward where it can avoid diluting the focus on the impact of coronavirus. It also highlights that it may be months before the UK is in a stable position, allowing the FCA to focus fully on the activities detailed in the plan. Given the current environment, the FCA has stated that if required, a new plan will be published.
The plan is split into three sections.
- How the FCA has and continues to take rapid action to respond to the immediate requirements during the coronavirus emergency and with particular efforts focused on ensuring that:
• markets function well
• the most vulnerable are protected
• the impact of firm failure is minimised
• scams are tackled
• consumers and small firms are treated fairly.
- How it plans to focus in the medium term on achieving outcomes where the FCA see enduring harm.
- Its focus on transforming their own operation for the digital age.
The FCA note that its current framework is too focused on rules and process and not enough on principles and outcomes. Too many resources are said to be devoted to redress and remediation and not enough on empowering consumers to take good decisions and regulatory action in order to prevent harm and safeguard consumers’ financial wellbeing.
