Nikhil Rathi, the incoming boss of the Financial Conduct Authority, was talking to MPs about the unpopularity that comes with overseeing more than 60,000 finance companies in the UK, ranging from Wall Street heavyweights to vets offering credit plans.
Less than 18 months into the job, the anger provoked by Rathi’s plan to transform the regulator has left the FCA facing the prospect of strike action for the first time. Earlier this month, the trade union Unite announced that an undisclosed but “significant” number of staff had backed industrial action in an indicative ballot. Four of the FCA’s top seven executives have left, or have signalled that they will leave, since Rathi joined, along with hundreds more beneath them, leaving the regulator with a staffing crisis as it tries to fill hundreds of newly created roles in areas such as technology and authorisations.
The soaring cost of living has increased anger, while the red hot market for professional services staff has made employees more likely to quit in protest. As the return to office working gains momentum, the prospect of spending more time in Stratford, an unfinished residential area away from the comforts of their old home in the business district of Canary Wharf, has also influenced staff thinking.
A report published last week by the FCA’s Staff Consultative Committee (SCC), said 56 per cent of the 1,852 respondents claimed they were considering leaving because of the changes. Almost half of the respondents said the proposals “would not support the FCA in meeting its regulatory objectives.”
