STEPHEN CRANSTON: Finance’s twin guardians
When it comes to the age-old question of who guards the guards, in the Prudential Authority’s case it is nobody
It is inevitable, in the Twin Peaks regulatory structure, that one arm — the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) — is the busier and noisier of the two outfits. It regulates market conduct, which can be an emotional issue, particularly where misselling is concerned. The other regulator, the Prudential Authority (PA), is far more low profile: it is concerned with the financial soundness of banks and insurers.
When it comes to the age-old question of who guards the guards, in the PA’s case it is nobody. It is effectively a department of the Reserve Bank and its governing committee is chaired by Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago. He’s assisted by three deputies, one of whom, Kuben Naidoo, is also head of the PA. There is no advisory committee and no input from nonexecutives. The PA doesn’t have a reporting line, dotted or otherwise, to the finance minister or parliament...
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