Mark Steward might be stepping down because the Monetary Conduct Authority’s (FCA) government director of enforcement and market oversight after seven years with the regulator.
Since becoming a member of the FCA in 2015, Steward (pictured) has led the supply of a few of the FCA’s complicated and high-profile enforcement instances, with successes in opposition to international monetary establishments and people, stated the FCA.
Below Steward’s watch, in 2020 the FCA fined motor finance provider Moneybarn £2.77 million for failing to treat vulnerable customers fairly once they fell into monetary issue, and simply months later Barclays received a £26m fine for poor treatment of its consumer credit customers.
He additionally led the FCA’s itemizing authority and oversight of the UK’s publicly traded markets, a job during which he developed the FCA’s data-led method to market oversight. Moreover, he has been on the forefront of the FCA’s anti-scam advertising marketing campaign, ‘Scamsmart’.
Nikhil Rathi, chief government of the FCA, stated: “Mark has introduced his formidable expertise as a regulator and as a litigator to the FCA, delivering important enforcement instances throughout a broad spectrum, in addition to the FCA’s data-led method to market oversight.
“That big contribution is a results of Mark’s abiding perception in equity, that markets should be clear if the financial system is to thrive and in doing the fitting factor on behalf of customers.
“He has proven that the FCA is prepared to tackle difficult instances, will use the total extent of our powers and can ship outcomes which have an actual impression for the markets we oversee and for individuals who depend on them.”
Final month (September 2022), the FCA introduced it had written to insurance sector CEOs as a part of a bid to guard customers from “pointless merchandise or add-ons and unfair penalties” through the cost-of-living disaster.
Automotive retailers have been instructed “there can be no compromise” with regards to the expertise leveraged to make sure compliance with the FCA’s new Client Responsibility.
Steward joined the FCA from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Fee (SFC), the place he was government director with duty for the enforcement division.
Earlier than becoming a member of the SFC, Steward held a number of senior positions with the Australian Securities and Investments Fee (ASIC), together with deputy government director, enforcement.
He has been concerned in company and securities regulation since 1987 in each Australia and within the UK, specialising in investigatory work and ensuing litigation.
Steward stated: “It has been a privilege to serve the FCA all through many challenges over the past seven years and, as I transfer on, to go away behind such a powerful staff for the longer term.”
Steward will go away the FCA in Spring 2023 and the seek for his successor will start shortly.
