FCA Sector Views Publication

For the first time, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have published their Sector Views document alongside their annual release of their business plan, mission objectives and fee consultation paper.

What are Sector Views?

The FCA advise that “they need a view of how the financial system works as a whole, as well as within its individual sectors and markets. To develop this view, they divide the system into sectors and monitor them continuously.” 2017 is the first year that the regulator has published their Sector Views document, which looks at the issues and developments in each sector, as seen by the FCA. This enables them (and now us), to see how each sector is performing, where the issues lie, what the issues are and to bring together a collective view of the system as a whole. The FCA hs advised that they will continue to publish the Sector Views on an annual basis, approximately 3 months after their Board has approved the content.

Which Sectors are Included?

The financial system as regulated by the FCA and therefore the Sector Views, cover all the markets regulate by the FCA and are grouped into 7 sectors: –

  • Retail Banking
  • Retail Lending
  • General Insurance and Protection
  • Pensions and Retirement Income
  • Retail Investments
  • Investment Management
  • Wholesale Financial markets

How is the Data Gathered?

The FCA hold a vast amount of information, research and external input data, which is analysed by sector and market experts to provide insights, facts and patterns concerning each sector and the financial system as a whole. The existing information held by the regulator is also supplemented with additional research, insights and data from external sources, such as independent economic forecasts and social media, through to the views of their own Statutory Panels.

List of RequirementsStats & Issues

The Sector Views document published statistics, facts and figures based on areas such as borrowing, mortgages and banking. Whilst the amount of data presented in the document is too vast to provide here, we have detailed just a few of the stats quoted by the FCA.

 

Read the Sector Views

The published document is far too extensive and complex to detail in this post and as it carries a wealth of information specific to each sector, we would suggest taking a while to read the document and using the content to improve and inform your own firm and employees. The PDF version of the Sector Views can be downloaded from the FCA Website.