FSA

Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) defence against a £4bn lawsuit from shareholders contradicts evidence given to MPs by former Financial Services Authority (FSA) boss Hector Sants, it has emerged.

A trust designed to safeguard the assets of investors in troubled overseas property company Harlequin is on course to be set up by the end of January 2014, the company has said.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has begun contacting clients of failed firm Tailormade, which was a major distributor of troubled overseas property company Harlequin Property.

MPs have refused to grant the regulator the power to ban individuals before its investigations into them are completed, due in part to the "serious harm" it could cause small firms.

UNREGULATED

STEP TOO FAR?

Treasury Select Committee (TSC) chairman Andrew Tyrie has called on the industry to help parliament hold the financial services regulator to account to avoid "excessive regulation" that could "create the stability of the graveyard".

The swell of new regulation in financial services "frightens" people away from seeking financial advice, while the proliferation of various fee structures is proving a "nightmare" for those who do engage, according to St James's Place CEO David Bellamy....

REGULATION

One of the regulators who rubber-stamped the appointment of disgraced former Co-op Bank chairman Paul Flowers later landed a job with the troubled lender, according to reports.