The Financial Services Authority (FSA) www.fsa.gov.ukis an independent non-governmental body, given statutory powers by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The FSA is accountable to Treasury Ministers, and through them to Parliament. It is operationally independent of Government and is funded entirely by the firms it regulates. The FSA is an open and transparent organization and provides full information for firms, consumers and others about its objectives, plans, policies and rules.
The Financial Services and Markets Act gives the FSA four statutory objectives:
market confidence: maintaining confidence in the financial system;
public awareness: promoting public understanding of the financial system;
consumer protection: securing the appropriate degree of protection for consumers;
the reduction of financial crime: reducing the extent to which it is possible for a business to be used for a purpose connected with financial crime
