FCA Enforcement Chief to Step Down
The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced Tuesday (Oct. 18) that Mark Steward will be stepping down as the regulator’s executive director of enforcement and market oversight in the spring of next year.
In his seven years with the FCA, Steward oversaw a number of high-profile enforcement cases and helped to shape the regulator’s current approach to consumer protection.
The FCA is responsible for ensuring financial institutions comply with relevant regulation. If they are found not to, the FCA has a duty to take legal action against them.
Related: UK Regulator Urges Banks to Treat Small Businesses Better or Face Regulatory Actions
Commenting on Steward’s time with the FCA, the regulator’s chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, said: “Mark has brought his formidable experience as a regulator and as a litigator to the FCA delivering significant enforcement cases across a broad spectrum, as well as the FCA’s data-led approach to market oversight.
“That enormous contribution is a result of Mark’s abiding belief in fairness, that markets must be clean if the economy is to thrive and in doing the right thing on behalf of consumers. He has shown that the FCA is willing to take on challenging cases, will use the full extent of our powers and will deliver results that have a real impact for the markets we oversee and for those who rely on them.”
The FCA said today that the global search for Steward’s successor will begin shortly.
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