Willmott agrees: "When the FCA was looking for a new head of enforcement, one of the key elements they were looking for was someone who would bring down the length of investigations because they were criticised on how long investigations were taking under Mark Steward.
"I think in some respects, if they go through with this, it will enable them to get their public outcome right at the beginning of their investigation, regardless of whether there has been a breach."
Alternative options?
But many believe they should just speed up the existing enforcement process itself, rather than conduct what some think is as much a marketing exercise as much a regulatory one.
Nunan says: "They always need more resources and there's an element of that, [it's] really streamlining their processes."
Emma Sutcliffe, head of disputes and investigations group at Simmons & Simmons, says: "If the FCA’s concern is about improving the speed and impact of the enforcement process, rather than using an announcement at the outset of an investigation without knowing the outcome, surely the better answer is to take steps to speed up the enforcement process itself?"
And there could be better use of 'Dear CEO' letters and thematic reviews to draw attention to issues, which many in the regulation business claim are taken seriously already by those they are intended for.
An FCA spokesperson said: “We have been making wider changes to the way enforcement operates in order to deliver more impactful deterrence. This includes plans to conduct investigations more quickly and with a more focused number of cases.
“We have been consulting on announcing our investigations, on a case-by-case basis, where it is in the public interest to do so. We believe doing so will give all the firms we regulate and the wider public better insight, earlier, about issues we are concerned about. Announcing more of our investigations would bring us in line with several other UK regulators.
“We have been actively engaging with the industry on this consultation and welcome all feedback.”
The trade associations have not been asleep on this, and are considering ways to tackle these proposals.
A spokesperson at UK Finance says: “The FCA’s proposal to publicly name firms under investigation raises a number of issues. We believe the current proposals are disproportionate in that they could result in firms suffering real damage in terms of their reputation and valuation, given the majority of FCA investigations are closed with no further action.
"We also think the proposals have the potential to harm the UK’s competitiveness and attractiveness as a financial centre."
