Ethics and governance in the European Financial centers

The FSA issued a short guide that explains how and why it conducts mystery shopping and use the findings.
The method is used to assess the way financial products are sold to consumers.

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Margaret Cole, Director of Enforcment, FSA, was invited this week at Fordham Law School, New York
She explained why the FSA is so credible in its assignments as regulator.
She explained notably that own procedures enable them to impose unlimited fines, to alter or withdraw a person or a firm's ability to conduct regulated activities, or even to prohibit (ban) them from the industry altogether.
The FSA actively looks for new ways to make sure its penalties bring about the deterrent effect the FSA wants to achieve. This means considering not only the types and levels of penalties the FSA imposes but making sure that the penalties impact upon the right people

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The reduction of financial crime is one of the FSA's four statutory objectives: section 6 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 requires FSA to aim to reduce the extent to which regulated persons and unauthorised businesses can be 'used for a purpose connected with financial crime'. Financial crime includes any offence involving money laundering, fraud or dishonesty, or market abuse. The objective interacts with the three other objectives – protecting consumers; market confidence; and public awareness.

The role of the FSA’s financial crime sector team is to co-ordinate and support the work of the whole organisation as part of the financial crime objective. Internally, this involves supporting colleagues around the organisation in identifying financial crime risks and how they can be mitigated.

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