Monday, 15 December 2014 09:48
FCA bosses put into spotlight over bungled briefing
Two key figures at the FCA will be grilled by MPs tomorrow over a bungled media briefing which led to £6bn wiped off the shares of insurance firms earlier this year.
Clive Adamson, director of supervision, and Zitah McMillan, director of communications, will be witnesses at the first in a series of planned Treasury Committee sessions looking into the regulator's handling of a key announcement on life insurance in March.
A report, published last week, was severely critical of the FCA. The Davis Review concluded its reaction was "seriously inadequate" and fell short of the standards expected of those it regulates.
The regulator has fully accepted the criticisms and apologised for the mistakes it made. The problems arose from a briefing given to the media in advance of the official announcement.
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The report stated: "The FCA's strategy of giving an advance briefing to The Telegraph in relation to the scope of the Life Insurance Review was well-intentioned: the FCA had sought to avoid the nature and scope of the Life Insurance Review being misunderstood when it was announced for the first time in the Business Plan, to be published on Monday 31 March 2014.
"The strategy and the manner in which it was pursued was, however, high risk, poorly supervised and inadequately controlled. When it went wrong, the FCA's reaction was seriously inadequate and fell short of the standards expected of those it regulates."
The regulator announced a restructure two weeks ago, before the review.
The changes included both Mr Adamson and Ms McMillan leaving as divisions within the organisation become amalgamated.
Executive committee member Victoria Raffe will also be leaving the organisation.
The Treasury Committee intends to take evidence from other witnesses as part of the Davis Review inquiry in the New Year, including the chairman and chief executive of the FCA.
The Davis Review cost nearly £4m to carry out.
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Clive Adamson, director of supervision, and Zitah McMillan, director of communications, will be witnesses at the first in a series of planned Treasury Committee sessions looking into the regulator's handling of a key announcement on life insurance in March.
A report, published last week, was severely critical of the FCA. The Davis Review concluded its reaction was "seriously inadequate" and fell short of the standards expected of those it regulates.
The regulator has fully accepted the criticisms and apologised for the mistakes it made. The problems arose from a briefing given to the media in advance of the official announcement.
{desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}
The report stated: "The FCA's strategy of giving an advance briefing to The Telegraph in relation to the scope of the Life Insurance Review was well-intentioned: the FCA had sought to avoid the nature and scope of the Life Insurance Review being misunderstood when it was announced for the first time in the Business Plan, to be published on Monday 31 March 2014.
"The strategy and the manner in which it was pursued was, however, high risk, poorly supervised and inadequately controlled. When it went wrong, the FCA's reaction was seriously inadequate and fell short of the standards expected of those it regulates."
The regulator announced a restructure two weeks ago, before the review.
The changes included both Mr Adamson and Ms McMillan leaving as divisions within the organisation become amalgamated.
Executive committee member Victoria Raffe will also be leaving the organisation.
The Treasury Committee intends to take evidence from other witnesses as part of the Davis Review inquiry in the New Year, including the chairman and chief executive of the FCA.
The Davis Review cost nearly £4m to carry out.
Get FREE daily news summaries direct to your inbox. Sign up on the homepage now.
Follow us on Twitter and get frequent news alerts @FPM_online.
Or follow Editor Kevin O'Donnell - @FPM_Kevin or staff writer James Nadal - @FPM_James.
For the latest Sipp, SSAS and retirement news visit our sister news site www.sippsprofessional.co.uk and on Twitter @SippsPro.
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