Between a Rock and a hard place

The Financial Services Authority is more wedded than ever to principles-based regulation post Northern Rock as it faces up to a “challenging” year ahead

The Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) reputation as one of the world’s premier regulators has taken a bit of battering over recent months. The run on Northern Rock led to inevitable questions about the regulatory system in place overseeing banks and the subsequent report from the Treasury Select Committee – never one to give the regulator an easy time – said the FSA “systematically failed” in its oversight of Northern Rock