Key facts
- UK regulators propose relaxing post-2008 accountability rules for financial sector bosses.
- Plans include reducing reporting for lower-level misconduct and easing checks on 140,000 managers.
- Only CEOs and CFOs would need annual 'fit and proper' checks.
- Firms would report only serious misconduct, not initial warnings or minor infractions.
- The changes are expected to save businesses 2 billion pounds over 10 years.
- Regulators assert that high standards of accountability will remain.
UK financial regulators are proposing to relax rules implemented after the 2008 financial crisis that were designed to hold senior City executives accountable for wrongdoing. The Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have put forward plans that would reduce reporting requirements for "lower-level misconduct" and ease enhanced checks for approximately 140,000 managers.
Under the proposals, only the most senior executives, such as chief executives and chief financial officers, would be required to prove they are "fit and proper" annually and before taking new roles. This change aims to significantly reduce the number of roles subject to enhanced scrutiny. Firms would no longer need to report initial warnings or minor instances of misconduct to regulators, focusing instead on "serious misconduct" and cases where staff receive final warnings or are terminated.
The regulators stated that removing these "unnecessary burdens" is expected to save businesses around 2 billion pounds over 10 years. They also project annual cost reductions of 11.5 million pounds for the Bank of England and 229 million pounds for the FCA. The regulators emphasized that these changes would not compromise high standards of individual accountability and conduct.