HM Treasury News Release
127/97                                       28 October 1997
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                      NEWRO GETS NEW NAME
                                
    New Financial Regulator to be called Financial Services
                           Authority
                                
The new financial regulator will be called the Financial
Services Authority, Chancellor Gordon Brown announced today at
the launch of the new organisation.

The new regulator will take over responsibility for banking
supervision from the Bank of England, financial services
regulation from the Self-Regulatory Organisations (SROs) and
insurance.

Announcing the new name, the Chancellor said:

     "The name encompasses what the new regulator is all
     about. It is clear, straightforward and easy to
     understand which is exactly the way we want to see the
     new regulator viewed.

     "The Financial Services Authority will bring the
     regulatory structure closer into line with today's
     increasingly integrated financial markets. It will bring
     more effective and more efficient supervision, giving
     both firms and customers more confidence in the system.

     "It will improve the competitiveness of the financial
     services sector and create a regulatory regime to meet
     the challenges of the 21st century."

The Chancellor announced that statutory objectives would be
set as part of the accountability framework for the new
regulator. The Chancellor said:

     "One of my aims in setting up the new regulator is to
     improve the arrangements for accountability to Ministers
     and to Parliament. I believe that statutory objectives
     can play an important role in achieving this.

     "The objectives we set will give the new regulator a
     clear sense of its priorities. And will provide a
     benchmark against which the performance of the regulator
     can be measured. They will form the basis of the
     regulator's annual report to me"


The Memorandum of Understanding between HM Treasury, the Bank
of England and the Financial Services Authority was also
published today. This sets out the framework of cooperation
between the three institutions.

Work is currently underway on drafting the legislation to
bring the new regulator into being. The draft Bill will form
the basis of consultation in the summer of 1998.



NOTE TO EDITORS

The Chancellor announced on the 20 May that there would be a
single financial regulator. This will have responsibility for
regulating banks, organisations currently regulated by the
Single-Regulatory Organisations (SROs) and insurance.