Small firms failing to meet the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) minimum standards can expect little leniancy, new figures have shown.
The FSA maintained a ‘tough stance’ towards businesses that did not meet its standards to remain regulated in 2006/7.
Stephen Bland director of small firms at the RSA said:
“The action we take against firms who do not comply with our minimum standards and our tough stance on firms' continued failure to submit the Retail Mediation Activities Return (RMAR) is working. Ensuring that firms implement and maintain these conditions is a priority for us.
“While our main emphasis is on helping firms to correct problems where possible, we take appropriate action when firms fail to comply with the conditions.”
The figures show that 151 small businesses were refused permission to carry out regulated business in 2006/7. The majority of these failed as a result of not sumbmitting their RMAR, which is part of the FSA's electronic reporting system.
Bland added: “Most small firms chose to fix any regulatory requirements that they were not fulfilling in order to stay in business. However, some decided to leave the regulated industry. In other cases we removed firms' permissions to carry out regulated business as they either could not or would not make the necessary changes to comply.”
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007
