FOS sees regulatory vacuum ahead

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The FSA's shift to a principles-based approach to regulation has throw up the question of whether the FOS may move into the vacuum created by the removal of specific rules, says David Thomas, principle ombudsman at the FOS.

Thomas says the ongoing change in regulatory approach has thrown out the question to the industry whether the FOS will itself move to take on a sort of quasi-regulatory role. The FOS has to deal with this question too, Thomas says, even as the service itself predicts a downward trend in mortgage endowment, single premium bond and other types of cases over the next year. It is also important to note the point there is a whole body of law for the industry to consider beyond whatever the FSA or FOS says or decides. Whether that is contract law, anti-discrimination law, or other, it also ...

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