Context
The FCA, alongside the publication of its new 5-year strategy for 2025 to 2030, has set out the outcomes and metrics it wants to achieve for consumers, markets and the wider economy. There are four sets of metrics, one for each of the four main priorities of the strategy. They represent the FCA’s aspirations over the next five years.
The FCA has set out between two and four outcomes for each of its strategic themes and the key metrics it will use to track them. For each metric it includes the data source, baseline value and recent trends. The FCA will also continue to track and report on metrics that relate to specific activities it is undertaking, and it will keep these web pages updated annually with the latest data to show progress.
Key points to note and next actions
- A smarter regulator: in year one of its strategy, the FCA says it will know it is delivering by continuing to track existing operational metrics, looking for maintained high adherence to service standards in its operating metrics, and continued improvement in metrics that show it is delivering its secondary objective on international competitiveness and growth (SICGO). It will also track continued improvement in firms’ perceived effectiveness of the FCA in regulating the financial services industry (using the FCA and Practitioner Panel survey).
- Supporting growth: outcomes will be increased competitiveness of the UK financial services industry, and a more productive and innovative financial services industry. The metric will be to maintain the UK’s position as one of the top global financial and fintech centres in the world, more firms using the FCA’s innovation and tailored authorisation services, an increase in financial services exports, and an increase in access to capital for businesses.
- Helping consumers navigate their financial lives: outcomes will be that consumers are better able to withstand a change in circumstances and save and invest more for later life, and have more consistently positive experiences when engaging with financial services. The metrics will be measured by the Financial Lives Surveys, and will be to measure increases in the proportion of consumers who hold certain key products, the proportion of consumers (with £10k or more in investible assets), who hold any mainstream investment, and consumer satisfaction with their financial services providers.
- Fighting financial crime: outcomes will be slowed growth in investment and authorised push payment (APP) fraud, protecting market integrity, and tackling money laundering through the financial system. Metrics will be measured against various sources such as the FCA’s own data, and data from UK finance and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau. The metrics will be ‘continued slowed growth’ in investment fraud victims and losses and in APP fraud cases and losses, and an increase in the cleanliness of UK markets through the FCA’s three market cleanliness statistics.
Each of the four separate web pages for the outcomes and metrics explains why the FCA has chosen the metrics, and contains graphs of historical values. The FCA recognises that the chosen metrics have limitations, and it has indicated where it is looking to improve metrics. The FCA welcomes firms’ views on the metrics, to be sent to outcomes.metrics@fca.org.uk.