Five Things That Might Appear on the FCA's Pro-Growth Wishlist

This Christmas, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his festive entourage – Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds – decided to spice up the holiday season by demanding five ideas for growth from Britain’s key regulators. While the directive might sound like a noble mission to boost a sluggish economy, those in the know suspect it’s more of a gift to the City than to the average Brit. Here are five gems we might see on the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) response come 16 January.

1. The Advice-Guidance Boundary: Redefining “Protection”

Leading the FCA’s sleigh is the proposal to redraw the advice-guidance boundary. This plan introduces a new category of long-term investment product selling, where providers can dump products on the less wealthy without accountability. No need to consider suitability, no avenue for complaints, and certainly no protection for redress. With 60% of Brits living paycheque to paycheque, it’s a perfect plan to funnel money upwards while leaving the public exposed. Growth, they call it.

2. Auto-Enrolment: More Pressure, Less Return

Next up, the FCA’s idea to extend auto-enrolment to younger workers aged 18-22 and scrap the lower earnings limit for contributions, whilst raising minimums. The move will force low earners to stash away money they need now for pensions they might never see. Employers, already struggling with wage hikes and other costs, will also feel the squeeze. The likely outcome? Business closures, job losses, and an even tighter squeeze on current living standards. Bravo.

3. Motor Finance: Burying Consumer Redress

In the Supreme Court of Appeal, the FCA is stepping in as the expert adviser on the motor finance undisclosed fixed commission case. Their advice? Bury the claim. If the judges ruled rightly and deemed this theft from consumers, the redress would dwarf PPI claims. But by kicking the can down the road, claims will conveniently fall outside the Statute of Limitations. A tried-and-true tactic perfected during the Woodford scandal. Justice? Hardly.

4. Fee for No Service: The 20-Year Scandal

Investment distributors have been raking in ongoing fees without delivering ongoing reviews for decades. The FCA’s response? Sweeping findings from Section 166 reviews under the carpet. Why? Because these City institutions are simply too big to fail. Forget the consumers who’ve been paying for nothing; the regulators’ priority is keeping the gravy train running for the powerful few.

5. Hiking Ombudsman Fees: Justice for the Wealthy

Finally, there’s the plan to hike Financial Ombudsman Service fees for claims involving claims management companies. The result? Deterring redress claims from the most vulnerable and least literate victims. The free arbitration service becomes less accessible, and the City escapes accountability once again. Growth for whom, exactly?

Growth for the Few, Not the Many

Sir Keir’s directive to regulators to prioritise growth is being spun as a win for the public, but the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. Each of these ideas tilts the scales further in favour of the City, leaving ordinary Brits to shoulder the burden. If this is growth, it’s growth in inequality, poverty, and frustration.

A Dickensian Future

As we await the FCA’s full response, one thing is clear: the push for deregulation and unchecked growth risks leaving the UK in a Dickensian nightmare. The government’s loyalty to the City over its citizens is becoming harder to disguise. And while they talk of putting money in people’s pockets, their policies do the exact opposite. It’s time to ask: who is this growth really for?