Adviser firms could fold in economic slump - FSA

In its 2008 Financial Risk Outlook (FRO), the regulator questions whether firms are “capable” of surviving rapid shifts in the economy, adding some firms pay “insufficient attention to factors that might lead to a downturn in profitability”. Pointing out the mortgage intermediary arena may be most at risk, the FSA says consumers will bear the brunt of firms’ incompetence unless they do something about it. “The existing pressure on financial resources combined with a less benign economic outlook means that there is a heightened risk of firm failure and increased pressure to sell products...