HISTORIC PRESS RELEASE : A new regulator for the new millennium [June 1998]
The press release issued by HM Treasury on 1 June 1998.
The Government’s reforms of the financial services regulatory system are on track to deliver a new regulator for the new millennium said Alistair Darling, Chief Secretary to the Treasury today. He was speaking at the Financial Services Authority’s European Conference in London.
On the day that the new Bank of England Act comes into force, he said;
“The first stage of our reforms is already complete with the changes to the Bank of England coming into force today. These give the Bank operational independence in monetary policy as well as moving banking supervision to the FSA. The next stage is the new Financial Services legislation which we will publish in draft in the summer. There is now consensus over the broad framework, but it is important to get the detail right. We want a system that will endure, and time spent listening is time well spent.”
Setting out the rationale for the Government’s reforms, Mr Darling said,
“The case for a single regulator is clear. A single regulator will be more effective because there will be no duplication of effort and no doubt about which body is responsible. Consumers will benefit because there will be single points of access for enquiries, complaints and compensation. Providers will benefit because bringing different regulators together should make regulation more cost effective. And a single, efficient, transparent regulatory regime which commands the confidence of the industry and its customers will be of competitive advantage to the UK’s financial services industry in the global financial services market. The right regulatory structure will enhance prospects for growth in this global market place.”
Concluding, he said,
“We are creating a new regulator for the new millennium. A single regulator to replace the outdated divisions of responsibility in the past. A regulator capable of adapting to change – adapting to a single market and a single currency in Europe and a rapidly changing global industry beyond. A regulator that is outward looking and as international in outlook as the markets themselves. And a regulator which commands the respect of the industry and enhances public confidence. The Financial Services Authority will become the role model for the future.”
