The founder of the Transparency Task Force has called on Dame Meg Hillier MP and the Treasury Select Committee to intervene over what he describes as a “coordinated and dangerous” rollback of consumer and regulatory protections across the UK’s financial services sector.
In an open letter, Andy Agathangelou, a longstanding campaigner for accountability and financial reform, warned that recent changes to the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) and the Financial Ombudsman Service threaten to reverse hard-won lessons from the 2008 financial crisis.
The letter follows the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech, the launch of the Leeds Reforms, and new policy announcements from the FCA and PRA. Agathangelou argues these reforms prioritise “short-term deregulatory gains” over “long-term market integrity and consumer trust.”
The SMCR, introduced after the financial crisis to ensure personal accountability at the top levels of financial firms, is now set to be “streamlined” by the FCA and PRA. The regulators say the changes will reduce red tape while maintaining standards.
But Agathangelou warns the proposals — including longer deadlines for reporting changes, reduced certification requirements, and looser criminal checks — risk weakening deterrents for misconduct.
“Rolling back SMCR protections does not address root problems. It simply makes it easier for firms and individuals to repeat past errors without meaningful consequences,” he wrote.
He cited Violation Tracker UK data showing financial services as the UK’s most frequently fined sector, with a history of repeat offending.
The letter also heavily criticises proposed changes to the UK’s redress system, including the reduction of interest on delayed compensation from 8% to the Bank of England base rate plus 1%, and new FCA powers to intervene in ombudsman decisions.
Agathangelou argues that these proposals would prioritise predictability for firms over fairness for consumers, and that they risk turning the ombudsman’s role into a mechanism for damage control rather than justice.
“Firms could be shielded from redress even where conduct was demonstrably unfair, so long as FCA rules weren’t technically breached,” he warned.
He also accused regulators of “anticipatory compliance” with Treasury priorities and criticised what he sees as a consultation process skewed in favour of well-funded industry voices.
Call for immediate parliamentary action
Agathangelou urged the Treasury Select Committee to:
1. Hold immediate public hearings on the reforms;
2. Launch a full inquiry into “The Erosion of Post-Crisis Financial Protections”;
3. Pause implementation of reforms pending parliamentary review;
4. Strengthen oversight mechanisms, including consumer impact assessments and statutory powers for the FCA’s Consumer Panel.
He added that “the weakening of ring-fencing protections, retreat from Basel III standards, and a marketing push encouraging retail share ownership” were all part of a “coordinated deregulatory agenda that undermines systemic stability”.
Quoting former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney’s call for “real markets for the good of the people”, Agathangelou asked whether “the age of irresponsibility is truly over”.
“Parliament has a duty to protect the public interest when regulators fail to do so,” he concluded. “If these changes go unchallenged, the next financial scandal is not a matter of ‘if’, but ‘when’.”