Firms fail to heed compliance advice

A series of FSA visits at smaller mortgage, general insurance and financial adviser firms - in late 2006 and 2007 - reveals of 22 firms which employ compliance consultants at least a third were not acting on recommendations which would have improved their regulatory positions. At the same time, at least half of the firms visited are still said to have “significant weaknesses in respect of their regulatory requirements” according to the Financial Services Authority. The project also looked into whether the firms that did use consultants used them effectively. Jonathan Fischel, head of...