My Lords, in moving Amendment 30 I will also speak to Amendments 31 and 34 in this group. Amendments 30 and 31 would amend Clause 8 and Amendment 34 would amend Schedule 3. They all concern a new power in the Bill to designate activities that the FCA will regulate.
The power to designate activities in Clause 8 is a very wide one. I have no problem in principle with the designation of activities, as there have been too many instances in the past where activities went unchecked and where the FCA’s inaction was blamed on lack of
powers. But it is not necessary to regulate absolutely everything in the financial services sector, and new Section 71K(3) of FSMA allows practically anything to do with finance to be regulated.
My Amendments 30 and 31 are modest, in that they say the power to designate activities can be used only if the Treasury thinks it necessary for the purposes of the FCA meeting its operational objectives. These operational objectives are consumer protection, enhancing the integrity of the financial system and promoting effective competition in the interests of consumers. That should not be a high bar, but it is important that when the Treasury brings forward designated activity regulations, it demonstrates that the activity is needed for these objectives and that it would not result in mission creep for the FCA.
I illustrate this with my Amendment 34, which would remove paragraph 4 from new Schedule 6B to FSMA which is introduced by this Bill’s Schedule 3. I am not at all clear why the Government have included Schedule 3, given that the unconstrained new power to designate activities expressly says that nothing in the schedule limits the power. I can conclude only that new Schedule 6B to FSMA contains the FCA’s wish list of areas that it wants to regulate.
My amendment, which deletes new paragraph 4, concerns short selling. I strongly believe that this should not become a designated activity, or should do so only if there is clear evidence that it is needed for one of the FCA’s objectives. Of the three objectives, I imagine that the only one that would be engaged is the market integrity objective, and I am not aware of any evidence that the regulation of short selling is necessary from a market integrity perspective. What enhancement of market integrity would be achieved? Is it actually necessary?
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The FCA has not carried out regulatory activity in relation to short selling since the financial crisis. It requires some disclosures to be made, but only because it was required to do so by the EU. The FCA itself has said:
“Our focus is on maintaining open markets that operate with integrity. We note that an ability to short sell can contribute to this, including by supporting effective price formation, enhancing liquidity and enabling risk management.”
The Treasury’s own consultation in December 2022 made much the same point. Short selling is a healthy feature of functioning markets.
Yet the Treasury’s consultation document is clearly looking for reasons to create a full-blown regulatory regime once the EU-derived short selling regulations are withdrawn. In my view, this is the wrong direction of travel. Regulation should be evidence based and not precautionary. Regulation inevitably imposes costs, and costs are ultimately borne by consumers. The message that the Bill sends on short selling is the wrong one. I beg to move.