No more ‘laissez faire’ FSA - Unite New Year’s resolutions
for regulator
30 December 2008
Unite, the UK’s largest trade union, is demanding that the
Financial Services Authority (FSA) discard their ‘laissez faire’
approach in 2009. The union has sent the FSA a list of New Year’s
resolutions to ensure that in the coming year it does not repeat
its mistakes of 2008.
The union which represents workers in banks and insurance
companies is calling on the regulator to be more hands on in their
handling of the sector as their approach of allowing excessive risk
has now been totally discredited.
Derek Simpson, Unite Joint General Secretary, said: “The FSA has
failed to spot the early warning signs in too many sections of the
finance sector during 2008. The regulator has clearly been asleep
on the job. They must review their conduct over the course of 2008
and accept that they must radically change in order to prevent the
any repetition of these mistakes in the coming year.
“Unite has outlined three New Year’s resolutions which must be
adopted to ensure that the regulator is able to protect against the
devastating consequences of financial collapse in the finance
sector. We need a total regulatory overhaul within the FSA to
ensure that there is no repeat of the systematic failures of
procedures and practices.
“Workers in the sector have directly suffered as a consequence
of their failures in the financial services industry, for
example in Northern Rock, HBOS and Bradford and Bingely. The
staff in the financial services sector are not the culprits of the
credit crunch and we are not prepared to allow them to become the
victims. The FSA must now take a close look at itself and have
a major transformation in the way they operate.”
The New Year’s resolutions Unite is calling on the FSA to adopt
are:
- To strengthen and enforce the Authority's own regulatory and
supervisory responsibilities.
- To use its powers to question and hold to account those
organisations and individuals who contributed to this crisis on a
massive scale and end the 'rewards for failure' culture in the
finance industry.
- To fundamentally reform its own structures and ensure trade
union representation on the boards of all key agencies.
Ends
For more information please contact: Saba Mozakka, Unite the
union: 07768 693 953.
