The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a United Kingdom regulatory body that focuses on the regulation of financial services firms (retail and wholesale). The FCA was founded in 2013 as a successor to the Financial Services Authority. The FCA’s stated mission is “to protect consumers, promote competition, and ensure the integrity of the UK financial system.”The FCA has a number of core functions, which include:-
Regulating financial services firms
Supervising markets
Protecting consumers
Investigating misconduct by firms and individuals
The FCA has been praised for its work in protecting consumers following the 2008 global financial crisis. In particular, the FCA has been credited with helping to make UK banks more resilient to future shocks. However, critics have argued that the FCA could be doing more to promote competition in UK banking sector.