Saturday, March 29, 2008
FSA’s mea culpa reveals a dysfunctional regulator
FSA’s report reveals a dysfunctional regulator, paralysed by high staff turnover and organisational changes
Staff at Britain’s main City regulator paid scant attention to Northern Rock in the two years before its collapse, kept few records of meetings and failed to act on signals that the lender was acting recklessly.
This is what Financial Services Authority (FSA) admits in its internal report, which reveals a disfunctional organisation paralysed by high staff turnover, regular organisational changes and a constant series of events in the City which dominates all their time, according to The Guardian.
The report reveals supervisors presented their managers with few reports on the risks taken by Northern Rock, leaving managers unable to form a strong view of the bank's business model, which has since been described as ‘reckless’.
See full Article.