U.K. regulatory reform gets approval

LONDON—The U.K. Parliament has approved an order to reform the Financial Services Act 2000, the legislation that empowered the Financial Services Authority and governs the country's financial market regulation.

The order is intended to reduce the burden of regulation on U.K. insurers, brokers and other financial institutions. The legislative reform follows a two-year review in which various representative bodies of financial institutions complained about unnecessary and disproportionate consultation burdens placed on industry, the Treasury said in a statement.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Kitty Ussher, commenting on the order's successful passage through Parliament, said: "This package of measures will reduce red-tape which will benefit the businesses the FSA regulates.

The Regulatory Reform (Financial Services and Markets Act 2000) Order 2007 came into force on July 12 and will, among other things, extend the FSA's powers to waive or modify all of its rules in respect of authorized and unauthorized persons; reduce some of the burdens on the FSA when consulting on guidance; and permit the FSA board to delegate the issuing of guidance.