UK to relax post-2008 rules that hold City bosses accountable for wrongdoing

The UK government is reducing the stringent rules that held City bosses accountable for wrongdoing, following the 2008 banking crash. This move, spearheaded by the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), is expected to save businesses approximately £2 billion over a decade. The proposed changes include less reporting for minor misconduct and releasing 140,000 managers from additional checks.

Only top executives, such as CEOs and CFOs, will need to undergo annual "fit and proper" assessments and prove their integrity before taking new roles. This watered-down approach retracts measures implemented in the mid-2010s, which aimed to ensure that bank bosses were held responsible for contributing to the financial crisis. The policy shift comes as regulators host a dinner for City executives at the Mansion House in central London, aimed at making UK firms more competitive globally.

This change also entails looser reporting requirements for lower-level staff misconduct, with firms no longer required to report minor issues or first warnings to regulators. However, the regulators maintain that the "high standards of individual accountability and conduct will remain unchanged," emphasizing that serious misconduct and final warnings or terminations will still be reported to top executives.