Defining the Financial Services Authority

Every country that has a banking and finance system needs some sort of entity to regulate it... after all, simply allowing banks and financial companies to run independently without any sort of system of checks and balances would almost certainly lead to corruption and disaster. In the UK , the regulatory entity of the financial system is the Financial Services Authority, or the FSA, and is operated independently of the government in an effort to offer a non-governmental control of the financial industry.

History of the FSA

The Financial Services Authority came into being as a result of the Financial Services and Markets Act of 2000. The first step in the creation of this act was the merger of banking supervision and investment services regulation into an organization known as the Securities and Investment Board, or SIB, in 1997. In October of 1997, the SIB formally changed its name to the Financial Services Authority, and the responsibility for banking supervision was transferred to the FSA from the Bank of England a year later. In May of 2000, the FSA took over the role of the UK listings authority from the London Stock Exchange.

When the Financial Services and Markets Act went into effect in 2001, several other financial services were merged into the FSA and additional responsibilities were granted to the organization (such as the ability to take action to prevent market abuse.) In 2004, the FSA was granted the abilities of mortgage regulation following a decision by the Treasury, and in January of 2005 the FSA took over regulation of the general insurance business to implement the Insurance Mediation Directive.

What the FSA Does

In short, the Financial Services Authority is in charge of monitoring and regulating all of the financial transactions and stock market exchanges within the UK . They also maintain websites that detail how individuals and businesses within the UK can improve their financial capability, as well as upholding the rules of trade in regards to finances and securities when dealing with other countries or political unions. The FSA is also in charge of monitoring securities exchanges within the UK , and taking steps to actively avoid market fraud and illegal trade.

How the FSA Operates

The Financial Services Authority is an open company, limited by guarantee and financed by the financial services industry itself. The FSA is run by the FSA Board, which consists of a Chairman, the Chief Executive Officer, three Managing Directors, and ten Non-Executive Directors, one of whom serves as the Deputy Chairman who is the lead non-executive member. Overall policy is decided upon and set by the Board as a whole, though day-to-day operations and staff management is performed by the CEO.

FSA Board Accountability

The FSA Board is appointed by the Treasury, and though it is not a government agency in and of itself it is accountable for its actions to the government and must report to the Ministers of the Treasury. Because of this, great care is taken in the choosing of new Board members should one retire of leave the Board.

Due to the nature of the FSA and the influence that it has upon the economy of the UK, the Board is also accountable to Parliament through its dealings with the Treasury, and any indiscretions on the part of Board members will be dealt with accordingly either by the rest of the Board, the Ministry of the Treasury, or Parliament itself.

Financial Service Companies

The Internet provides a wealth of information on companies that offer financial services to their clients. You just need to enter your query on a regular search engine, and you will be flooded with thousands of websites of companies that offer such services. The problem lies in finding the right site to fit your needs. A solution to this problem is to know exactly what you want so that your search can be narrowed down to the companies that offer the services that you want.

One way of narrowing your search is to be specific in your queries. For example, instead of just typing "banking services," you can type "personal savings account" or "time deposits" instead. For business accounts, you may type "venture capital" instead of just typing generic words like "lending." For corporate accounts, it may also be helpful just to type in the words "employee compensation and benefits" rather than typing "salaries and wages."

Some search engines also provide help in deciphering the right information by giving categories of the financial services that are available online; all you have to do is to click on the link that is usually placed on the home page of the search engine. The usual major categories include banking services, insurance, and mortgages. Under these major categories, you will then be able to find relevant sites that can help you with your needs. If you wish to look for banks that may be able to finance a car or a home loan, you just have to look under the category of mortgages. For services that involve running a business, you may find categories like cash flow management and financial planning under the banking services category. These major categories help in narrowing down the choices that you face because they eliminate other websites that would have appeared in your search if you used vague terms.

When you are flooded with information, finding the information that you need is difficult. This is why it is helpful that when using the Internet to search for financial services, you know what kind of service you want and where to look for it. Being more specific and using tools provided search engines are only a few ways at solving this problem.

Business Financial Services

Banks provide their financial services to clients through personal online banking, making banking more convenient for individuals who may not have the time to go to banks. However, these services are not only offered to clients' personal accounts but are also available to owners of small businesses and to corporations as well. In the same way that personal banking is made easier, everyday banking is made simple, cost effective, and fast so that business owners can devote more time in running their businesses.

The services that banks provide for business-owners range from simple bookkeeping to sophisticated cash-management services; tailor-fit money-management tools are also provided to help you increase the efficiency of your cash flow. Some of the services that banks provide to business-owners include providing checking accounts, savings accounts, payment processing, and cash management. These are aimed to help you have easy access to your funds, earn interest, and manage and grow your money, which is very important in running a business.

For corporate and institutional clients, banks have also lined up a number of services that can help you with your banking needs. These services include asset management, which can help you supervise and keep track of your assets and their performance. Benefits and retirement services are also provided to you so that the bank can manage the salaries and benefits that your corporation provides to employees. Other services include access to capital markets, cash management and deposit services, domestic correspondent banking, insurance and international banking for your export needs, lending and financing, risk management, sales and trading, and trust services.

In the same way that banks offer security to personal bank accounts, your business and corporate accounts are also assured of the utmost security. Access codes and passwords are also given, and encryption technology is used to assure you of the confidentiality of your transactions, which businesses take measures at protecting.

In the same way that online banking has helped clients maintain personal accounts, the same convenience and security is now extended to businesses and corporations for their very demanding banking needs.