Alessio Ianiello comments on the FCA invoking emergency powers

Associate Alessio Ianiello comments on the FCA’s decision to invoke its emergency powers to stop financial advisers involved in the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) mis-selling scandal from offloading their assets to avoid paying compensation, in City A. M..

Alessio’s comments were published in City A. M., 27 April 2022, and can be found here.

“The FCA should have invoked the emergency powers when news of the BSPS scandal was first published back in 2017, not some five years after the event.

The FCA’s delay to invoke these powers is a disservice to claimants affected by the scandal, especially those where the original advisory firm has been declared in as a result of the defendant firm having swindled their assets out of the business.

This delay will also have a long term impact on the Financial Services Compensation Scheme which is responsible for covering claims against advisors that have already defaulted.

If the FCA is serious about this intervention, it should widen the emergency powers to firms that have advised one or more BSPS members to transfer out of the pension scheme, otherwise, some claimants will be left in the cold.”