Government publishes financial regulation white paper and draft bill

The government has published its financial regulation white paper and draft bill. These provide further detail on the government’s proposed reforms to the financial regulatory regime within the UK. The government hopes to introduce the bill later this year.

The white paper contains a number of new policy proposals including:

• A specific statutory objective governing the Prudential Regulation Authority’s responsibilities for the insurance sector

• An updated and enhanced competition regime under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

• Steps to strengthen the handling of cases of widespread consumer detriment, including misselling.