The FCA spent £1.2m on foreign business travel in 2014 but generally much less than its predecessor for this, a freedom of information request has showed.
The FCA spent £1,234,517 on foreign business travel in 2014, which included money spent on flights, Eurostar, continental rail and hotels, and £866,900 from April 2013 to the end of that year.
The request showed that its predecessor organisation, the FSA, spent £664,901 on foreign business travel from January 2013 to March 2013.
The FSA’s foreign business travel costs came to:
£3,007,315 in 2012
£3,212,231 in 2011
£2,922,340 in 2010
£2,388,724 in 2009
£1,856,180 in 2008
£1,021,970 from May 2007 to December 2007.
Information before this point has been destroyed in line with a retention policy in place at the time.
On 1 April 2013, the FSA was replaced by the FCA and the PRA.
An FCA statement accompanying the freedom of information response said: “It is worth noting that the FCA of course seeks to minimise the necessity of overseas travel.
“The FCA could not however fulfil its role as a financial regulator without regular meetings with other overseas regulators and visits to group head offices of the firms which it is responsible for in the UK.”
