Arbitrage or risk transfer?

After four-and-a-half years of preparation, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) finally took over as the UK’s single financial services regulator on 1 December. Except for an increased focus on the responsibilities of senior management of financial services firms, there have been few other notable changes to the regulation of the financial services industry as a whole. But in terms of the individual sectors, the insurance industry will be subject to the most fundamental changes, says Howard Davies, chairman of the FSA.