In its short life, the Financial Services Authority adopted a light-touch approach and oversaw a catastrophic banking meltdown – but so did many other western watchdogs
It was the watchdog that didn't bark. When the Financial Services Authority (FSA) was created in its current form by Gordon Brown, it was modelled on the all-powerful US regulators, but it is likely that it will be remembered for only thing: presiding over the near-meltdown of the UK's banking system.
In its short life, the FSA failed to rein in the banks, and even encouraged the City to explode in the mid-2000s with a "light touch" approach to regulation. It did not notice that Northern Rock was built on such shaky foundations that it could easily run out of money, and failed to prevent the takeover of ABN Amro by RBS just as the credit crunch was biting in late 2007.
See full Article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/mar/24/farewell-fsa-bleak-legacy-light-touch-regulator
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