Regulators should “be bolder” and make sure new companies can disrupt big incumbents, even if it appears to let risks into the financial sector, the City’s top regulator has said. Officials too often end up “tinkering on the margins” of the financial system and only look out for risks, rather than seeing the opportunities arising from new technologies, according to Tracey McDermott, the outgoing chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority. “There is a risk that as regulators we can treat the status quo with too much reverence, with our efforts focused on ensuring the status quo works better than it does today,” she told the City Week conference. “Natural caution… can at times risk us tinkering on the margins and perhaps standing in the way of more fundamental change. In today’s era of rapid technological development and social and demographic changes, we may need to be bolder, to be prepared to re-examine and re-think the status quo.”
Tracey McDermott, outgoing CEO of the UK’s FCA calls for regulators to be bolder and to allow new companies can disrupt incumbents in their sector. “Companies like Uber are disrupting traditional taxi services by offering a cheaper alternative that is more convenient than owning your own car,” she said. The Telegraph suggests her speech, at the City Week conference this week, could be a sign of new direction in which the FCA is heading.