The FCA has today published its Approach to Supervision and its Approach to Enforcement.

The Approach to Supervision shows how the FCA aims to be more forward-looking and pre-emptive in its supervision of firms.

"Firms’ strategies and cultures are at the root cause of most major failings. Supervision’s proactive engagement with firms will focus on business models and the drivers of behaviour in firms. Supervision will prioritise its activities according to the greatest risk of harm," the FCA stated.

The Approach document explains how the FCA has an intelligence-driven and data-led approach that enables it to take prompt and incisive action once harm has been identified.

The Approach to Enforcement outlines how the FCA conducts investigations and its powers. It also shows how enforcement sets out to achieve fair and just outcomes in response to misconduct and to ensure FCA rules and requirements are obeyed. The overriding principle in the FCA approach to enforcement is substantive justice – to ensure it carries out investigations in a consistent and open-minded way to get the right outcomes.

FCA chief executive Andrew Bailey said: "The most visible parts of the FCA’s work, supervision and enforcement are critical to helping us fulfil our objectives. For supervision this means overseeing regulated firms to identify, prevent or reduce harm to consumers and markets. And for enforcement our overriding principle is to provide substantive justice, aiming to achieve fair and just outcomes in response to misconduct and to ensure our rules and requirements are followed.

"We hope today’s Approach documents outline clearly and in a transparent way, exactly how we fulfil our objectives through supervision and enforcement activity and why we make the decisions in the manner that we do. We are committed to continually improving our models and driving progress."

Both approach documents are open for consultation until 21 June 2018. The final approach documents will be published later this year.

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