RegulationJun 5 2013

Cann: FCA £1m rebrand is ‘understandable’

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Mr Cann, senior partner and adviser for Hertforshire-based M Thurlow & Co, said: “This all makes sense, expensive as it may be – if you are the new regulator desperate to distance yourself from the old, failed model.”

His comments came in response to news that the FCA’s rebrand from the FSA had cost £1.06m, including a £700,000 spend on the new website.

Last week, Derek Bradley, founder of online intermediary forum PanaceaAdviser – who revealed that he made a Freedom of Information Act request to enquire about the money the FCA spent on its re-branding exercise – criticised the spend.

Mr Bradley said that he was not so worried about the cost itself, but about whether savings could – or should – have been made by the industry-funded body, and whether this might be indicative of over-spending elsewhere.

He said: “In the world of regulation, a spend of £1.06m is not a lot of money – yet that is precisely the problem. If this figure can be spent and is, for example, 30 per cent more than it need be, the question is where else is too much money is being paid?”

A spokesman for the FCA responded: “Following the government’s decision to replace the FSA, a new brand identity, website and handbook had to be created. Following a competitive procurement process, we enlisted an external design agency.

“We then had to register our new logo both in the UK and across Europe, so we used an external law firm to support us in this process.”