April 5 2016
As a result of our assessment of the risks we have identified seven priority themes for this Business Plan. These will form the primary focus of our discretionary work over the course of the year ahead:
- Pensions
- Financial crime and Anti-Money Laundering
- Wholesale financial markets
- Advice
- Innovation and technology
- Firms’ culture and governance
- Treatment of existing customers
These priorities do not represent the totality of our work, but will be used to drive our decisions about our thematic projects and market studies and also inform the areas we will pay particular attention to in conducting our core activities. The UK financial system is a major global hub which attracts investment and activity from across the world. However, this can also attract criminals and terrorist organisations seeking to hide the proceeds of crime among the huge volumes of legitimate business. It is imperative that the UK financial system has appropriate safeguards to prevent financial crime. At the same time, it is important we ensure that financial crime regimes are proportionate and operate efficiently and that any unintended consequences of regulation are minimised.
We also want to reduce and prevent the harm caused by investment scams, including pension scams, and increase consumer awareness of the dangers of investing in unauthorised schemes.
We recognise that these are areas where partner agencies also have responsibilities and a key role to play. We will undertake work on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and scams in collaboration with law enforcement partners and other agencies, with actions being taken by the appropriate organisations.