U.K.'s FCA to provide guidance on non-financial conduct, CEO says

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority will be issuing guidance on how U.K. financial services firms should tackle non-financial conduct of workers this autumn, said FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi on Wednesday during a Treasury Committee hearing.

Mr. Rathi, who was grilled by U.K. members of Parliament as part of the regular scrutiny of the FCA's work, said that the FCA jointly with the Bank of England will be issuing a guidance on non-financial conduct as part of its diversity and inclusion paper in September.

The work follows the FCA's investigation into the allegations of sexual misconduct at Odey Asset Management and the regulator's work on monitoring non-financial conduct of City workers that could impinge on their obligations to ensure there is market integrity and investor protection.

"Non-financial conduct is relevant in financial services," Mr. Rathi said. The FCA can seek to ban workers from financial services if it deems them not to be fit and proper.

"This is evolving and sensitive area," he said, about the investigation into Odey and the new guidance, adding that the FCA encourages workers to talk to the FCA's whistleblowing team about these issues.

Building on reforms announced by the U.K. chancellor of the exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, on July 10, Mr. Rathi said that the regulator will be closely involved in delivering the reforms, including developing a type of trading venue for companies to access capital before they go public.

"We are supportive of the structure to facilitate scale and appropriate qualifications for trustees," he said, speaking about Mr. Hunt's other reforms.

The committee asked the FCA boss if more investments by retirement funds and retail investors in productive finance assets such as private equity could mean more risk in the system.

Mr. Rathi said the reforms are aimed at improving returns in the U.K. retirement system, which are lower than in other retirement systems.

The FCA boss, who was also asked by MPs on how the organization will change the regulation of financial services under the newly approved Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, added the regulator is going to be focused on building competitiveness-boosting regulation for the U.K.

For example, the FCA will seek to achieve faster authorization regimes for firms without sacrificing effective regulation, he said.

Mr. Rathi noted that some cryptocurrency firms have sought to operate in the U.K.

"We have turned down applications from some of the largest crypto firms," he said, citing money laundering issues. "We want clean markets."