Regulation

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is gearing up to interview London-based advisers about their risk assessment processes as it works its way across the country.

Few advisers have lost clients as a result of changes to how they are paid, according to a survey suggesting a happier intermediary sector than this time a year ago.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) plans to freeze the levy it collects from firms and cut its budget by 20% over the coming year.

The Financial Ombudsman Service is expected to scrap its fee of £350 for mis-sold payment protection cases after amassing "considerable" funds since the fee's introduction in April 2012.

Treasury committee chairman Andrew Tyrie has called on the regulator to scrap the "fundamentally flawed" approved persons regime for advisers and instead align the sector with the new standards being brought in for the banking industry.

A client who protested about commission being taken from his pension without his permission and without receiving ongoing advice in return has had his complaint rejected by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

The Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA) has called on the regulator to adjust next year's fees for advisers to "correct the error that occurred" in the previous year.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have launched enforcement investigations into failures at the Co-operative Bank which led to it receiving a rescue package of £1.5bn from its parent company.

The Bank of England (BoE) could lower the unemployment target it has said must be reached before it raises interest rates, according to some experts, as jobless figures fall faster than expected.

A new broker body has been launched in a bid to raise standards of behaviour and practice in the profession.