As a result of the enactment of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and the many pieces of secondary legislation issued under its various provisions, the UK system of banking regulation has abandoned its emphasis on broad regulatory discretion and informal norm-setting, negotiation and enforcement; it now rests, instead, on formal legal provisions and detailed procedures. Critically discuss.
You may also it find useful to review the chapter through the following questions:
• What are the main features of the UK fnancial regulation architecture?
• What are the key responsibilities/tasks of the FCA and the sPR A?
• What does the Northern Rock scandal tell us about supervisory practices at the FSA in the run-up to the crisis?
• What does the ‘Run on the Rock’ report tell us about the operation of the tripartite
structure in 2007?
• Why do governments set up independent regulators, and how do they attempt to balance independence with accountability? Is this balance appropriately struck in the new UK structure?