Gosling's Grouse: Zero-impact regulatory regime

Not enough to restore confidence

The Senior Managers Regime has now come into the regulatory dictionary and we all need to be aware of it. These rules will be irrelevant, however, unless something meaningful comes out of the pages of new regulations.

The most obvious thought is it will mean more box-ticking, higher costs, and more confusion. What will be the impact on 'consumer outcomes'? Will it alter the decision-making processes of 'senior managers'? Will it make consumers safer? And will it help restore confidence in the industry? I would probably say no to all of these, which leads me to ask the question: what is the point? The issue is one of industry politics. The FCA wants to demonstrate to the government it is an effective regulator, so we have seen a swathe of new rules and regulations that fall into the 'after the horse...