Key
FSA announcements
6
April - FSA
fines auditor for market abuse - The
Financial Services and Markets Tribunal directed that the FSA fine Mr Arif
Mohammed, a former Pricewaterhouse Coopers audit manager, £10,000 for
committing market abuse. This is the first time the market abuse provisions in
the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 have been the subject of a Tribunal
decision. Contact Eleanor Hughes
for more information.
7
April - FSA
looks to insurance industry to address conflicts of interest - Speaking
at the FSA's first insurance sector conference, FSA chief executive John Tiner
told attendees why the FSA believes the industry is capable of managing
conflicts of interest. Contact
Joseph Eyre for more information.
8
April - FSA
fees update - The FSA will shortly finalise its fees for 2005/06
and will issue combined invoices, covering FSA fees and Financial Services
Compensation Scheme and Financial Ombudsman Service levies, from June onwards.
Contact Eleanor Hughes for more information.
14 April - FSA
and Exeter Asset Management Limited announce details of split capital investment
trust settlement - The FSA has reached agreement with Exeter Asset
Management Limited, a fund manager that was not a party to the 24 December split
capital investment trust agreement. Exeter Asset Management Limited has agreed to make a
contribution of £1,000,000 to the settlement fund set up by the 24 December
agreement. Contact Rob McIvor or
Kate Burns for
more information.
14 April - FSA
and Teather & Greenwood Limited announce details of Split capital investment
trust settlement - The
FSA has reached agreement with Teather & Greenwood Limited, a broker that
was not a party to the 24 December split capital investment trust agreement. Teather & Greenwood has agreed to make a
contribution of £300,000 to the settlement fund set up by the 24 December
agreement. Contact Rob McIvor or Kate Burns for
more information.
15
April - FSA
warns of new boiler room threat - The FSA has issued a
warning about a new tactic used by boiler rooms to con both investors and UK
small businesses out of their money. This
is the latest in a series of
warnings to consumers about boiler rooms and share investment scams.
Contact Eleanor Hughes for more information
19 April 2005
- FSA
reveals approach to retail risks and areas under review – The FSA
has revealed how it assesses and prioritises emerging retail market and
product risks and highlighted some of the issues it had recently considered.
Contact Vanessa Wood for
more information.
22
April 2005 - Simplified
Prospectus will give fund investors more information - The
FSA has set out its final rules and guidance for implementing European
requirements on product disclosure information for consumers in relation to
collective investment schemes such as Unit Trusts and OEICs that hold a UCITS
certificate enabling them to be marketed in other EEA countries.
Contact Robin Gordon-Walker for more information.
27
April 2005 - FSA
appoints City lawyer as new Director of Enforcement - The
Financial Services Authority (FSA) has appointed Margaret Cole, Partner in the
London office of the international law firm White & Case, as its new
Director of Enforcement. Contact Kate Burns for more information.
28
April 2005 - FSA
publishes final rules for new Listing Regime - The FSA has published its near final listing rules. The publication also
includes policy statements on CP04/16 – The Listing Review and implementation
of the Prospectus Directive and Miscellaneous CP04/08 – cancellation of
listing, as well as an update on Prospectus Directive implementation and a
consultation paper on statutory responsibility for prospectuses.
Contact Joseph Eyre for more information.
28
April 2005 - Provisional
Liquidators appointed to Whiteley Insurance Consultants - On 26 April
2005, the High Court in London appointed Provisional Liquidators Dan Schwarzmann
and Nicholas Reed of Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP to Whiteley Insurance
Consultants (Whiteley), a firm of travel insurance intermediaries which also
trades as Kingfisher Travel Insurance and Kingfisher Insurance Services. The
appointment was made in support of a public interest winding-up petition,
presented by the FSA. Contact
Vanessa Wood or Eleanor Hughes for more information.
FSA speeches in April
1
April - Regulation
and Consolidation in the Financial Industry - At the IIF Spring
Conference in Madrid, John Tiner gave his thoughts on the competitive pressures
confronting the global financial industry and on how strengthening the EU Single
Market could impact firms' competitive positions.
He also touched on the challenges facing regulators from further
financial services integration. Contact
Joseph Eyre for more details.
4
April - Regulation
of Capital Markets: Cooperation, Overlap or Competition – John
Tiner spoke in Brussels to the Institute of Chartered Accountants about the
changes and opportunities in financial reporting.
Contact Joseph Eyre for more information.
6
April 2005 - Launch
of Fair Finance, a Community Development Finance Institution
- Consumer Sector Leader, Anna Bradley spoke at the
launch of an initiative to promote financial inclusion. Contact Dave Whitely for more information.
7
April 2005 - Supervision
strategy for retail general insurance intermediaries
- Stephen Bland, Director Small Firms Division spoke to the British Insurance
Brokers Association, Manchester about the FSA supervision strategy for retail
general insurance intermediaries and outlined our priorities for this year in
the retail arena. He also spoke
about the FSA's approach to supervising the increased number of small firms.
Contact Robin Gordon-Walker for more information.
7
April 2005 Reform
of the insurance industry – John Tiner spoke at
the first Annual Insurance Sector Conference run by the FSA on the reform
of the insurance industry which coincided with the publication of our Insurance
Sector Briefing on delivering the Tiner Insurance Reforms.
Contact Joseph Eyre for more information.
7
April 2005 - Modernisation
of the regulatory regime in general insurance: How far have we come?
An FSA Perspective - Dr. Thomas F. Huertas, Director, Wholesale
Firms Division spoke at the FSA Insurance Conference.
Contact Joseph Eyre for more information.
19
April 2005 - How
times have changed and what changes we should expect, in terms of financial
services - Callum McCarthy
spoke to the Chartered Accountants' Livery Company on changes in
financial regulation and what changes we should expect.
Contact Rob McIvor for more information.
21
April 2005 - Re-thinking
life insurance - David Strachan, Insurance Sector Leader, spoke
at the Westminster & City Conference on some of the key changes to with-profits, including realistic reporting
and closed funds. Contact Joseph
Eyre for more information.
Briefing
notes
-
No briefing notes for April –
Other
publications
Letter
to BBA, BSA & LIBA: The UK approach to the calibration of Basel
(PDF)
This
sets out the FSA's proposed approach for completing an impact study for a sample
of UK banks and building societies. The results will feed through to the
calibration of the Basel framework.
Recent
Unfair Terms cases - undertakings obtained
[PDF]
The
FSA has been reviewing contract terms which have been referred to us by
consumers, enforcement bodies and consumer organisations. This has led to firms
undertaking not to use terms which may be considered unfair.
