Paul talked us through the main provisions of the new Act which he was closely involved with at the drafting stage and discussed the role of the new regulatory authority. The new regulator will have prosecution powers, money laundering will now come under the scope of the FSA and there will be a new civil regime called market abuse. There will also be a new emphasis on consumer protection with a single ombudsman and compensation scheme. The new look FSA will take over the registrar functions of building societies, friendly societies and credit unions. It will also have guidance powers covering the operation of the Act.

Paul pointed out that FSMA is really a rule book for the FSA and that day to day application of the Act's provisions will be contained in some 90 pieces of secondary legislation.

He explained that 'N2' was the date on which the new act (and the new regulatory authority) will come into force. This has now been set for no later than the end of November 2001, but there are still many in the financial services industry who view this as an optimistic date considering the amount of secondary legislation still to be enacted and the number of consultations on the new handbook which are outstanding.

There was only a short time for questions at the conclusion of Paul's speech, but it was clear that the main concern of the audience was the lack of a central information or enquiry point at the Financial Services Authority. Anyone who has had to contact the FSA will be only too familiar with this problem. Paul assured the audience that he would bring our concerns to the attention of the appropriate person at the FSA, but it is something they need to address urgently especially considering that one of the central functions of the new regulatory authority will be a heightened awareness of the role of the consumer.