FCA Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi talks about starting his role during the coronavirus pandemic, and the FCA’s approach to the various challenges ahead
In his first Inside FCA Podcast Interview, new Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi reflects on the coronavirus pandemic response, emphasising the ‘central role’ the FCA is playing in the recovery of the UK economy.
‘The FCA has to carry on doing what I think it did very well during the height of the crisis in March and April, which is listen and respond with pace and agility as new challenges emerge.’
Addressing the growing risk of firm failures as the pandemic continues, he says:
‘We cannot stop some of the firms that are under FCA oversight from failing. We are not nor should we be a zero-failure regulator’. But he stresses that in those circumstances, the FCA will work to 'ensure that risks are managed and consumers are adequately protected.'
Looking further ahead, he emphasises the importance of data:
‘We have to become more of a data-led regulator, data information intelligence is at the absolute core of what we do right across the organisation…’
He concludes the interview by outlining his vision for a post-Brexit world.
‘We will continue to work hard on new areas of finance, particularly supporting innovation and fintech to make sure that the regulatory framework continues to adapt to the significant changes that we’re seeing around us’.