FSA hands out record £27.3m in fines

by Gill Montia

Story link: FSA hands out record £27.3m in fines

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published its annual report for 2008/09, measuring its performance against stated aims.

The regulator levied a record £27.3 million in fines during the year, compared to £4.4 million during the previous twelve months and banned 58 individuals from carrying out regulated activities, compared to 30 the year before.

According to the report, the huge increase in penalties reflects the FSA’s “more proactive approach to enforcement”.

The new outlook was accompanied by a rise in the number of supervisory staff employed, from 526 to 703.

During the period of the report, 302 investigations were closed, resulting in 371 outcomes; 243 cases involved the use of powers such as prohibition, financial penalties and variations of permissions.

The credit crisis saw the number of regulated firms decrease from 28,325 in 2007/08 to 27,340 and the number of FSA approved individuals shrink to 166,420 from 172,077 a year earlier.

Commenting on the report, FSA chairman Lord Turner said: “Looking at the year as a whole, I believe the FSA has dealt successfully with the immediate crisis, and taken actions to ensure that we build a more stable financial system for the future.”