FSA

The FSA has referred PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for investigation after failing to spot "serious" banking failures at J.P.Morgan.

Chris Headdon, the disgraced former chief executive of Equitable Life, is free to return to the City after being banned by the FSA for six years for his part in the insurer's near-collapse.

The FSA and the FSSC need to agree on who is doing what and why in order to send a clear message to the market, Nick Cann says.

The FSA has moved to reassure IFAs any hikes in mandatory qualifications above QCF Level 4 post-RDR will only be implemented if the industry decides this is needed.

Long term care, mortgage and equity release qualifications could be reviewed by the FSA every three years to "ensure they remain up to date and relevant".

AIFA says the FSA's planned 30-month time limit for new advisers to qualify is one "arbitrary number" in a paper it says raises more questions than it answers.

Alan Lakey of Highclere Financial Services thinks the FSA's 30-month qualification deadline adds further pressure to an industry already weighed down by excessive regulation.

The head of Informed Choice says the FSA's imposition of a 30-month qualification deadline is "perfectly reasonable" and brings a sense of clarity for advisers.

The FSA could wrench the mandate to update qualifications standards from the Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC), and force a review of the criteria every three years.

The FSA says the cost of assessing qualification requirements - mainly stemming from plans to publish a qualification list - amounts to £60,000 each year.