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Banking Bill

This amendment does not add a great deal to the Bill and I will ask the noble Baroness to withdraw it. I would, however, like to reassure her that what she is proposing is broadly in line with the clause as it stands. Section 3(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 provides that the FSA’s market-confidence objective shall be, "““maintaining confidence in the financial system””." The proposed amendment would substitute the existing drafting to require the FSA to undertake its statutory functions with the objective of, "““ensuring that the financial system operated in a way in which public confidence is justified and achieved””." The existing market-confidence objective is broadly drafted to encapsulate public confidence to include the confidence of individuals participating in the financial markets and exchanges but also those individuals who participate or benefit from the provision of regulated activity or other activities connected to the markets and exchanges. However, the FSA is also subject to public awareness and consumer protection objectives, including the objective of reducing financial crime. These objectives together are designed to contribute and enhance public confidence in the financial system. The FSA already has a strong focus on consumer and public confidence as part of its public awareness and consumer protection objectives, as well as its market confidence objective. So, taken on their own, the FSA is already under the obligations to which the noble Baroness’s modest amendment would only add unnecessarily. Because the FSA’s remit is quite clear in the legislation, the amendment can safely be withdrawn. I hope that the noble Baroness agrees with me.