MPs believe 'something seriously wrong with FCA' following damning report

The group of MPs tasked with holding the Government to account has said there is “still something seriously wrong with the FCA” as part of a new report slamming the regulator.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Investment Fraud & Fairer Financial Services released a report in November last year where it said “there is compelling consensus among respondents that the regulator too often fails to perform its functions to a reasonable standard”.

Bob Blackman CBE MP, co-chairman of the APPG (pictured left) made a statement as part of a new supplementary report, where he described the FCA's response since the report came out as "completely defensive".

When asked to respond back in November, an FCA spokesperson told AM that it strongly rejected the characterisation of the organisation from the APPG report, saying that it has "learned from historic issues and transformed as an organisation".

The FCA was likened to the Post Office, which has been subject to a very public scandal, with "a lack of objectivity and self denial of the problem, which only serves to emphasise how critical the need for a resolution is".

As part of this latest APPG report, Blackman said: "Sadly, our evidence-gathering has led us to the unavoidable conclusion that, based on all the testimony we have seen, there is still something seriously wrong with the FCA.

"The FCA has not substantively challenged the key points made beyond its nebulous claim that the issues raised are ‘largely historic’, something we unreservedly reject for the reasons already given."

Blackman said the APPG has no reason to soften its position, and that it should be recognised that many "historic" issues raised in the group's original report in November "have still not been resolved".

He added: "The new testimony we have received since our report was published, including from previous employees of the FCA, has reaffirmed the validity of our view, leading us to conclude that the ‘incompetent at best, dishonest at worst’ narrative that was expressed in the first report is still a valid perspective.

"As explained, we wish to share evidence including testimony we have received since the November 2024 report was published, to refute the notion that the issues we raised in November are just historic, a thing of the past, and that the FCA’s Transformation Programme has been such a success that it is now ‘a very different organisation.’"

The FCA was very visible in the mainstream media towards the end of 2024, with FCA chief executive Nikhil Rathi joining Martin Lewis’ Money Show to address shortcomings about the regulator, as well complaints against car finance lenders.