FCA Business Plan 2023/24: acting faster to detect and prevent harm

In his latest Business Plan, published on 5th April 2023, FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi sets out the FCA’s plans to deliver the second year of its three year Strategy published in 2022. This comes against a backdrop of heightened operational and market risk, and the continuing cost of living pressures facing consumers.

The 2023/24 Plan reiterates the three high level focus areas from the FCA’s three year Strategy: (i) reducing and preventing serious harm; (ii) setting and testing higher standards; and (iii) promoting competition and positive change. The FCA reiterates its intention to deliver across all 13 commitments that support these focus areas, however, the FCA have identified four of these as priority areas in which it will invest even further:

• Preparing financial services for the future -  Working with Treasury to implement the outcomes of the Future Regulatory Framework review and Edinburgh Reforms, repealing and replacing retained EU law with Handbook rules adapted to suit UK financial markets
• Putting consumers’ needs first - Ensuring the Consumer Duty is effectively embedded within firms and central to their technology. Working with firms as they support consumers struggling with cost of living pressures
• Reducing and preventing financial crime - A strengthened authorisations process, improved assessments of regulated firms and more staff to investigate and prosecute offenders. Continuing to develop tools to identify scams
• Strengthening the UK’s position in global markets - Further proposals to come to reform the listing regime. Bringing forward proposals to improve asset management regulation later this year as well as a consultation on consolidated tape

Underpinning all this is a key theme: the FCA is focused on acting faster against firms causing harm to consumers and/or the markets and increasing the number of firms it takes action against. The FCA’s continued investment into its data and digital programmes, and into bolstering its Authorisations, Enforcement and Market Oversight divisions, has this objective firmly in mind.

Read our client note for more details on the key points from the Business Plan.