Financial Services and Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial Services and Markets - Essay Example No doubt MiFID has its own influence on the effectiveness of the functions of FSA in that there may be some overlapping of the initiatives as laid down by both the regulations in achieving the purposes for which they have been introduced. With this background this paper attempts to bring out a detailed report on the legal implications of MiFID on the FSA and the extent of the exposure of its authority on the activities of different organisations, which are supposed to be regulated and controlled by FSA. Financial Services Authority is an independent non-government body, set up under the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) 2000. The important role of this authority funded by the industry is to regulate the financial services industry. Under FSMA the FSA has the following statutory objectives: The New Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 provide a framework within which the Financial Services Authority (FSA) will operate as the UK's sole, statutory, financial services regulator. (Lindsey Hemingway 2001) The policy objectives of FSMA 2000 are to create an efficient and effective transparent framework for financial services regulation in the UK which promoted market confidence and protects consumers. According to HM Treasury Note (2005) "these Regulations fulfill these objectives by enabling the FSA, the UK's single regulator of financial services, to operate more effectively by permitting independent actuaries who assist the FSA in its regulatory functions to disclose more information to the FSA in certain circumstances." According to Lindsey Hemingway (2001) the New Act would introduce the following significant changes in the financial services law, although the fundamental principles of the Old Act will be maintained. These will include: the FSA as the sole financial services regulator in place of the various regulatory and professional bodies created under the regime of the Old Act; a revised Financial Promotion scheme; powers to impose penalties for market abuse; regulation, marketing and promotion of collective investment schemes; recognition of investment exchanges and clearing houses; delegation to the London Stock Exchange of the relevant powers to regulate listing activity and to approve all prospectuses; establishment of a single Ombudsman and compensation scheme, replacing the various schemes already in existence, to