Banking of reform in 2010: Is regulatory change ever enough and will 2010 and the General Election hold the answers for the Financial Services Industry?

Jones, Clare (2010). Banking of reform in 2010: Is regulatory change ever enough and will 2010 and the General Election hold the answers for the Financial Services Industry? The Law Teacher, 44(2) pp. 218–234.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03069400.2010.486281

Abstract

Over the past three years the financial service industry within the United Kingdom has undergone a major crisis. No part of the industry has gone untouched and even the regulators and the Government have come under fire for their part in promulgating the financial crisis, along with the financial service providers themselves. What has developed has been a plethora of policy documents issued and this has culminated in four major new legal updates for the financial services industry occurring during just one year. The Banking Act 2009, the Turner Review, the Walker Review, the White Paper on Reforming Financial Services and the Financial Services Bill 2009 have all increased the burden on financial services firms in light of the financial crisis sweeping not only the UK but the globe. This paper provides an oversight of these four important papers and pieces of legislation so as to shed light on what the new requirements for financial services firms are. Given the fast pace of the financial crisis, its respective regulation is also just as quick and as such it has been hard for practitioners and academics alike to keep pace with the evolving saga of the crisis. This paper therefore provides an overview of what happened and how the regulation has responded to the challenges it now faces. © 2010 The Association of Law Teachers.