FCA to have 'statutory duty' to promote competition

In today's white paper, the government said the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will have a "strong new role" in promoting competition in liaison with the Office of Fair Trading as part of a wider blueprint for regulatory bodies. However, in setting out the body's new role, the government stopped short of requiring the FCA to have competition as one of its core objectives and said its strategic and operational objectives will remain its priority. "The FCA will be under a statutory duty to exercise its general functions in a way which promotes competition so far as is compatible ...