But the adviser complained that the FCA’s promise of “unspecified explanatory text at an unspecified date” was not good enough.
Mr Townsend ruled that the FCA should pay the adviser £1,500 to acknowledge the failure to review his concerns and the length of time it took to resolve the issue.
He also made two recommendations: that the FCA should remind staff to consider both the procedural correctness of what the FCA has done as well as the possible unintended impact on the individuals involved, and that the FCA should look into whether the register is too inflexible.
The FCA has since confirmed that the design of the underlying system for the register is being reviewed.
Mr Townsend welcomed this and said the case had parallels with others he had dealt with on the issue of the FCA’s register.
He said: “While the cases have many different features, it seems to me that both are examples of the FCA failing to put itself in the shoes of the regulated person or the end user of the register.”
damian.fantato@ft.com
