Enforcement gathers force

Recent proposals to bolster the FSA’s enforcement powers could have real bite, says Ian Mason.

Ian Mason (Ian.Mason@BakerMcKenzie.com) is a partner in the financial services group of Baker & McKenzie and Payal Ranjan is a legal assistant at the firm.

In October 2010 the FSA issued CP10/23 proposing changes to its policies and procedures concerning certain of its enforcement powers. These are contained in the Decision Procedure and Penalties manual (DEPP) and the Enforcement Guide (EG), part of the FSA Handbook and associated material. The proposals come close on the heels of the amendments made to section 391 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) by the Financial Services Act 2010. These amendments became applicable from 12 October 2010 (except in cases where the FSA had given the person a warning notice before 12 October 2010).