The Financial Services Bill has received Royal Assent.
The Act, which comes into force from 1 April 2013:
- gives the Bank of England responsibility for protecting and enhancing financial stability, bringing together macro and micro prudential regulation
- abolishes the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and creates a new architecture consisting of the Financial Policy Committee, the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority
The Government will bring forward secondary legislation in the New Year, in advance of the launch of the new authorities legislation that will (among other things) bring LIBOR into regulation.
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Greg Clark, said: “The Financial Services Act replaces a regulatory structure which palpably failed when tested by crisis. It sets out a comprehensive regulatory framework designed to enhance financial stability in the future and protect consumers. It takes important steps to focus the regulators on rebuilding competition in a banking sector that has become too concentrated.
“It is important that the reputation of the UK as a global financial centre is underpinned by a regulatory environment in which the world’s investors, as well as British taxpayers, can have confidence. These reforms – as well as those in the forthcoming Banking Reform Bill – can help rebuild confidence and trust.”
