When the Financial Conduct Authority’s senior manager’s regime – now, and maybe always (?), known as the Senior Management and Certification Regime – was first proposed years ago, I remember bankers saying it would result in a mass exodus of executives from finance. That turned out to be true, though I’m sure there was plenty of back-and-forth between the regulator and the market. It’s since been rolled out to other entities, including private funds, as of December 2019.

And it’s been (more or less) fine! Philippa Kent even has people saying nice things about the FCA. That was pretty rare when I was in London covering banking, with the FCA and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulatory Authority together posing as pretty stern taskmasters. But: “The regime is really flexible,” and “it’s an example of a regulator doing quite a good job.”

I don’t know what to make of that, I’m just not used to it. But the transition isn’t over, with a final 2020 deadline looming. And also, there have, indeed, been examples of executives stepping down from UK firms, not wanting to be held accountable by the FCA for their underlings’ behavior, according to one lawyer.

Oh, well now that’s more like it.

Email prepared by Graham Bippart