Watchdog not Lapdog New rules for the banks
Which? has campaigned over the years for better financial regulation and protection of consumers hard-earned money.
The coalition government decided in June 2010 to divide the responsibilities of the current regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), into two new bodies.
In Autumn 2011, the Which? campaigns team were busy submitting evidence and influencing the drafting of the Financial Services Bill. In December, the committee set up to look at the drafting issued a report of recommendations that echoed some of our own concerns.
Financial Conduct Authority
The Bill will take up to a year to be finalised, but when ready, will take the current financial regulator, and replace it with the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The PRA will focus on the bigger picture issues that have the potential to destabilise the whole economy.
The FCA will operate as a consumer champion, and will be tasked with improving competition in the banking sector and stopping dodgy financial products reaching your pockets.
Which? wants the new regulator to learn from the lessons of its predecessor. So we're calling on the government to ensure they create a watchdog, not a lapdog, to keep an eye on the banks.
We took to the streets to find out what consumers want from the new financial watchdog. Explore our gallery:
What Which? wants
Our dog is ready to show its teeth
1. We need a strong regulator that stands up to the banks and promotes competition.
We want the FCA to issue fines that are big enough to act as deterrents and promote competition by making sure products are transparent, simple to compare and easy to switch between.
Our dog is not afraid to bark
2. We need an open regulator that tells consumers what it does.
We want the FCA to tell consumers when firms are found to have broken the rules, what it is investigating and what it is going to do to stop it.
Our dog can sniff out dodgy products
3. We need a proactive regulator that acts on issues before they become problems
We want the FCA to take a more proactive approach and ban dodgy financial products and misleading adverts before they cause problems. Lessons must be learnt from the payment protection insurance mis-selling scandal.
Help with the watchdog campaign
There are a number of ways you can get involved
1. Sign your name in support of the Watchdog not Lapdog campaign
2. Share your views on our banking debates. We use your feedback as evidence when responding to government consultations
