Margaret Cole to leave FSA

"Cole (pictured) said: 'I joined the FSA to help in the fight against wrongdoing within the financial services industry and I believe a lot has been achieved in my time here.' "

lol

FAIL

One down 700 to go

"I believe a lot has been achieved in my time here"

Fees up and Consumer protection down?

or

On Consumer complaints - The more you lie, the more you get?

She doesn't say she is proud of what has been achieved, god forbid.

As long as she believes that then thats fine isnt it.

NMA Please list her achievements.

Then opposite list her salary, bonuses and other benefits.

Isn't she the character who decided that Life Settlements were "toxic and unsuitable for retail investors" whilst the reasearch was still being undertaken by her colleagues? has she fallen on her sword because her position was untenable?

Sorry that was going to read 3700 but missed the 3, also just checked it is now 3999 left and also seen this from the FSA themselves

Who regulates the FSA?

Our powers derive, ultimately, from Parliament; in practice, we are accountable in a number of ways to the public, industry, government and Parliament.

•The independent Practitioner and Consumer Panels, whose status is set out in FSMA, exist to ensure that the views of consumers and the industry are taken into account by us. We are required to respond formally to their representations;

•Complaints against us may be investigated by an independent Complaints Commissioner, whose findings are published;

•There is scope for judicial review of our decisions;

•Our rules are subject to scrutiny by competition authorities;

•We make an annual report to Parliament, which is published, and the chairman and other senior directors make regular appearances before the Commons Treasury Select Committee.

Anyone like to comment on the above statement without using a swear word or two.

Five months "gardening leave" ~ that'll be on full pay, I presume? And does her contract specify that she'll get a hefty lump sum as well? And who's she going to work for next?

Looks like one step in the right direction but can we be certain she has not been poached by the Financial Conduct Authority?

Lets hope the FCA can recruit a professional that takes financial scandals seriously - the whole industry and therefore customers pay for the sheer incompetence of the FSA. Just look at the latest fiasco - MF Global - FSA registered entity running segregated accounts under FSA regime. FSA yet again fails to regulate properly. Result huge claims coming. Everyone pays - except the FSA of course who's income goes up every year. Well done FSA. Well done Margaret Cole. When even the Chairman of KPMG wrote to you years before the Keydata collapse about their concerns - what did the FSA do? You guessed it - absolutely nothing.

The financial services industry has run like a well oiled machine with little or no wrongdoing in the last seven years.

Well done

Blimey! That's 2 bits of good news in 2 days: first Towry/Fisher and now Margaret 'Toxic' Cole.

Who's next?

Still waiting for an explanation as to why she thinks EEA Life Settlements Fund is a toxic asset not suitable for retail investors.

At least she follows on the footsteps of Edwina Currie and Gerald Ratner.

Now that the HEAD ENFORCER is put out to grass, can you imagine the fun and jockeying for position thats going on in the Mini Enforcers canteen in the dungeons of Canary Towers?

When they were under control they were bad enough!

As Hector would say Be Afraid, Be very Afraid!

To be fair to Ms Cole it would be intersting for her to list the wrongdoing she has stopped within the financial services industry and list the things she has perosnally achieved during her time there.

"she joined the FSA in July 2005" ......So was she one of the "totally inadequate" staff hector inherited?

Another one that doesn't fancy being around when the proverbial hits the fan once people find out what RDR is all about next year and no longer have affordable access to their trusted IFA.

"I believe a lot has been achieved in my time here" Couldn't agree more - fantastic acheivements - NOT.

198 staff earning between £100k and £199k, 11 earn between £200k and £299,999 and 4 earn more than £300,000 and no one accountable for the failings. Couldn't make it up!

All these salaries are met out of the fees and levies paid by the industry and levied on the consumer - Never mind TCF just give us your cash.

C'mon Mr Spielberg - there's a box office money spinner in here somewhere.

and a great cheer could be heard accross the UK!!!! :-) ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!

I presume her leaving package (that we are paying for) will be more than sufficient to make sure that it buys her silence.

We don;t want her to disappear without trace just yet.

She needs to be held to account for her astonishing input to the FSA during a period of failure, as well as her own apalling personal failings.

She cannot simply walk away from the wreckage.

Ian Coley

Partner

Medical Investment Services

There must be another gravy train due along when she gets off this one.

There are 2 obvious reasons for her departure.

The first is that Martin Wheatley got the job of head of the FCA rather than her, and she took it badly. There is no evidence to support this, but it may be so.

The second is that her outburst on the 28th November about TLPI's was so intemperate and ill-advised that the FSA redacted her letter to remove references to Ponzi schemes following EEA's response to the 'consultation process'.

Since you can verify the redaction via a comparison with the first version and that currently on the FSA website, I am more inclined to support it as being the prime reason.

We won't miss her.

Now I am not a betting man, but I am guessing that despite her "great" record at the FSA, at the end of her gardening leave, she will walk into some high paid deal with one of the organisations that she so brilliantly regulated over the last 7 years.

The rewards for failures in the FSA just keep coming....

Where to now House of Lords?

Seat on the MPC?

Some cosy job with a bank to tell them how to run a successful advisory business?

Or is it the golden parachute with a cosy pension etc etc.

Good riddance!

Not that I'm in the habit of defending anyone who works for the FSA, but do we know if Ms. Cole was responsible for taking decisions to embark on enforcement action or was she just the overseer of enforcement action once the decision had been taken by others to embark on it?

I really don't know the answer, but everyone here seems to be assuming that her role and responsibilities were the former, which may not actually be the case.

SHE IS RIGHT TO GO. The damage that this individual and her cohort have wrougfht in the statement that she made last December regarding Life settlement investments beggars belief for a senior manager; and Sants delivers plaudits!

One can only hope that there is no further income paid to her and that she suffers the ignomany that so many good IFA s have suffered and pays redress from her own and her 'team's' pockets.

She will , of course find highly paid employment courtesy of the secure recruitment roundabout that only 'the City' knows. God help us.

Cole (pictured) said: 'I joined the FSA to help in the fight against wrongdoing within the financial services industry and I believe a lot has been achieved in my time here.'

MF Global, CF Arch Cru, Keydata (to name but a few) a lot certainly has been achieved, a lot of FSCS fees levied on IFA’s instead of fund management groups who were the cause of loses.

FSCS fees levied on IFA’s because Mrs Cole did not want to acknowledge the FSA’s role in these disasters and did not want to take on powerful lawyers or foreign regulators to establish true cause of loss.

MF Global – MF Global using clients funds to secure trades in name of MF Global.

Keydata – Fund manager disappears with £103 million from the supposed 100% client protection regime in Luxembourg.

CF Arch Cru – We await result of £150 million lawsuit against Arch Financial Products LLP. Whatever the outcome the FSA have allowed CAPITA to absolve their responsibility as Authorised Corporate Director in taking responsibility for actions of Arch Financial Products LLP.

Unfortunately there will be no change in policy at FSA, big business will be allowed to abuse the system and the FSA will pass blame onto those to weak and disjointed to stand up to them.

@Julian

What's with all this milk of human kindness?

The responsibility for whatever enforcement action was taken against firms, lies with La cole. She was in the driving seat, irrespective of her position in the chain of events.

And as for her reckless utterings about 'toxic' products, it's time to realise she was toxic and had to go.

I'm sure she'll be sadly missed......... by the fancy restaurants she had expensive meals at, the London cabbies, the owners of expensive hotels, wine merchants.......you get the picture.

Hope she doesn't dig up anything toxic in her garden. Six and a half months gardening leave, eh? I'm definitely in the wrong job.

As 'community service', maybe she should have to go and do some unpaid work in the EEA marketing department?

@ Julian Stevens - it did almost look as though you were defending the fragrant Margaret. I'm off for a large brandy.....

Your all entitled to your opinions but some are disgraceful. She has made mistakes, we can all chirp on about MF, Arch and Keydata, but thats three of the thousands of companies she regulated. What about the successes shes had that no-one here ever mentions? Every week companies are held to account for misconduct and individuals are brought to justice. She has achieved alot for the case for women in senior corporate positions too, something that is seriously lacking in the city.

@Barman

Your comments are not unfair. However you must understand that people who are being told to write cheques every so often to pay for the incompetence shown by FSA and the blatant disregard they show for the needs of their paymasters, are so totally insulted that everyone who works for the FSA and draws a six figure salary is deemed fair game.

Where to next - my money is on Capita - in more ways than one!

Best news I have seen in a long while on this forum

Can I have her job please? - I am an IFA and by definition will be a lot cheaper to employ than her and I may do less damage.

You may recall when NMA did a blog 18th August on the Boards personal expenses Havindg checked it again travel cost for Margret Cole up to

Sorry about that I will continue Since joining the board in September 2010 the cost of her travel is cica £14147 You may recall that staff are eligible to keep their air miles. Those point should come in handy the paid garden leave !

Actually Julian I thought her primary role was to provide pithy press releases every time her department did something. Are you saying she time to do another job?

'I joined the FSA to help in the fight against wrongdoing within the financial services industry and I believe a lot has been achieved in my time here.'

The FSA has nothing to be proud of. It has failed consumers and the industry at every level and allowed the destruction of the banks. Why did it not stop the banks overtrading? It was too busy counting the pebbles on the beach when the Tsunami was coming. Its a failed organisation and its management should be sacked - without payoffs !!!

'I joined the FSA to help in the fight against wrongdoing within the financial services industry and I believe a lot has been achieved in my time here.'

"No bankers were personally harmed during the making of this collective intellecual failure".

Epitaph of a regulator.

No bankers were harmed in any way during the making of this collective intellectual failure. Nor will any be harmed in future because I need a job.

Oh come on Glen McKeown - that's a bit harsh. When Ms Cole first joined the FSA, she had to work extremely hard to compose standard paragraphs that would be used in future press releases and then had to spend the next 7 years making sure they got transposed onto fresh press releases without error whenever a rogue adviser was being disrobed. Have you no sympathy for the woman - how would you like to be told you had to go off on holidays for 6 months on full pay - and with Spring just around the corner?

I just hope Miss Cole sees this blog and realises the contempt we have for her!

I have contempt for the FSA - not for the individuals and some of the comments here are rather unpleasant. Out of interest, I wonder if women will make up a fair proprtion of the FCA Board e.g. 50%?

Yesterdays news was somewhat a relief. Thought that I had better to wait until after a good nights sleep to make my comments but that did not happen!!

A person who was over promoted to a role that where she felt that there could be nothing wrong with her comments as she was "God" to us poor muckers.

Well it is very nice to see that she has gone but one has to ask why was she not sacked for the debacle over LTF's?

Reason again comes up " we are above the realms of reality".

Then leaves with months of garden leave, when will the FSA face up to its resposibilities instead of blaming everybody else all the time.

Still one more off, but yet to leave the gravy train.

I can understand the opprobrium being demonstrated on this subject, but.....

It is more important to use the situation and the implied circumstances leading to it, in dealing with the issues that Margaret Cole brought about.

If the reason for her exit can be fairly explained by her gaffes, her general or more importantly specific performance on particular issues then this should help advisers bring a collectove action for the appropriate level of accountability to be laid at the door of her employers and herself.

It seems to me that there is every reason to suspect that her statements on life settlements may have been a contributory favctor in her leaving and it is impportant that this is borne in mind when formulating an action plan for dealing with the fall-out.

This could be fairly applied to other issues too of course.

It is important not to take our eyes off the ball and allow the FSA to somehow draw a line under past actions by them and Margaret Cole in attributing blame for the effects of regulatory failure and moments of personal failure.

Ian Coley

Partner

Medical Investment Services

@Sam Caunt - you are right, and some of the comments are ill-judged. But the directors of a regulated business carry more responsibility and are subject to greater sanctions than their employees, and that is considered right and proper.

Why is it then inappropriate to hold the directors of the FSA to account for the FSA's errors and omissions?

Furthermore, when one of those directors does something which appears to flout the FSA's statutory duties (that of ensuring an orderly market), should that director not be answerable?

Finally, may I ask you two further questions? Your comment about 50% indicates that you wish the FCA board to be selected on artificial criteria. Do you think that Margaret Cole would have been a better appointment than Martin Wheatley, given her record? Or do you feel that women candidates should be favoured over their male counterparts?

Another "inadequate" gone but disembarked from the quango gravy train ?

I doubt it, timing looks strange has she lined up a job in one of the many new improved quangos this Government (of the "bonfire of quangos" ) is busy setting up all over the country to reward its friends overseeing the new Police authorities or what ever they are going to title them.

They're laughing at you.

@Robert Johnsey

CAPITA is good call, or possibly HSBC or BNY Mellon, there is an outside chance she might go back to her old employers Stephenson Harwwod who are acting for the SPL Guernsey Cell companies in their £150 million High Court Claim against Arch Financial Products LLP, she will have a good inside track after 3 years of tough negotiations with CAPITA about what went on at Arch - but then again the way the FSA have handled this farce maybe she doesn't.

Bentley-Leek are looking for somebody (as well as looking for their former chairman).

Another company well supervised and regulated by Ms Cole's quango

Whoa! Give me a break, guys. I only asked if we know for sure that MC was responsible for investigations into possible wrongdoing and, once those investigations had been completed, taking the decision as to which firms and individuals should be subject to enforcement action, as opposed merely to overseeing implemention of that enforcement action, the actual decision having been taken by somebody else. If MC was only the enforcer, as opposed to the investigator and decision-maker, it's a bit like criticising the CPS for failings on the part of the police force. I don't know ~ I'm just asking the question. Does anyone here know the answer?

she was the MD Julian

Prediction....

no apology, no retraction!!!

new regulator (95% same staff) - Announcement

"all those problems were created by the previous regulatory body!! we have no connection with them!!!"

once again, no come back!!!!! history repeats itself yet again!!!

Queen, 'The Game' Track 3

Hector next?

Morwenna

"once again, no come back!!!!! history repeats itself yet again!!!"

And don;t you think it's up to us to prevent that from happening?

I suggest all IFAs get over to the IFA Centre, sign up and help support a proper trade body united in taking issue with the regulator.

Ian Coley

Partner

Medical Investment Services

@ Ian C

"It is important not to take our eyes off the ball and allow the FSA to somehow draw a line under past actions by them and Margaret Cole in attributing blame for the effects of regulatory failure and moments of personal failure."

Could not agree with you more.. but that is exactly what they will say and they will all "move on"

They're are laughing at you.

couldn't agree more John

To Nick ~ MD with exactly what responsibilities?

To Sam Caunt ~ By and large, I agree, though looking back to the terms of Clive Briault's departure (with a massive golden parachute for which we were all forced to pay), not to mention the actions, utterances and general attitude of people such as Hector Sants and Sheila Nicoll, it's hard not to feel considerable antipathy towards certain individuals. After all, the way in which any organisation functions is surely directly attributable to the competence and integrity of its senior officers. And why should MC be given five months "gardening leave", which means almost certainly she'll remain on full pay?

BTW ~ Do we know whether she's jumping voluntarily or has she been pushed?

If you were leaving voluntarily, on what basis would you be able to negotiate garden leave?

GEM

Probably somewhere in the small print says "6 months notice has to be given by either party" This is destroyed if the employment is terminated due to sacking the person.

However, in this organisation it is probably much better to have this notice than sack a person and to admit incompetence!

Reported elsewhere:-

Tim Dolan, a financial services lawyer who was formerly with the FSA enforcement division, said Margaret Cole’s departure was “no surprise” after Martin Wheatley got the Financial Conduct Authority top job.

From this (assuming it to be true) we may infer that thwarted ambition to be the top dog (no pun intended) led to Ms. Cole resigning, perhaps in a fit of no small pique. One can perhaps imagine her storming into Hector's office and shouting "You swine (or a stronger term), Hector, you PROMISED me this job after you moved on to greater things. And to think that I................."

Wonderful image Julian - you have cheered me up

The FT has a favourable comment, but you like this part of the article .They suggested that after speaking to a head hunter that they may have to increase the salary to attract some one in Ms Coles mould

tbh, before she went to the regulator she was known as one of the best litigators in the world, her reputation was massive, I dont think they will find anyone of that mould easily.

Barman

Are you intimating that following her stint at the FSA her reputation is no longer massive?

The FSMA 2000 is a bit of a damp squib in that it didn't give the regulator enough powers or tools to do the job, please don't laugh.

Not as massive as your reputation, Evan.

did you mean Mould?..... or Mold?!!!! ha ha ha ha!!

A new take on - Who moved my mouldy cheese?

Frank - I will admit that the remark was a little waspish, but enjoyable for that. Your remark did cause me to ponder on why I found the remark enjoyable.

Firstly, and this has been alluded to in this blog, Ms Cole had a penchant for making sanctimonious comments on virtually every enforcement case that went through, whatever the importance of the case. Many were so insignificant that comment gave them an importance they did not deserve. So why comment? The only supposition I can make it that she enjoyed her name in lights because it made her feel important, and thereby raised her status for her next post. It is likely that most of the comments where prepared by the Press Office, so they could just have gone out as an FSA comment.

Secondly, there were remarkably few enforcements of significance during Ms Cole's reign. The vast majority of cases seem to be related to Mortgage Fraud, except that I am not sure that Fraud is a suitable word in many cases. An unprofessional sharp use of sloppy provider administration procedures comes nearer to the mark in a lot of cases. Fraud is normally based on the assumption that money will be taken and not returned. It is more than likely that the thought of never repaying the mortgage never ever entered the minds of those manipulating the income figures. This is more misdemeanour than hanging offence. Is it possible that the severity of the punishments handed out had more to do with personal vanity than proportionate punishment.

Thirdly, there is virtually no information produced by the FSA that indicates what is happening inside. Certainly everyone is very busy writing manuals and pamphlets to be added to an overburdened website, but is there any constructive work in progress. For example, what sort of statistics can Ms Cole provide to support a conjecture that she was a success. Saying that she sent a few insider dealers to jail is not really a positive statement if it can be shown that she also failed to satisfactorily prosecute a thousand others. And so on. Ms Cole is merely one person in a culture of secrecy, but a high profile person, who sets the standards. We really need to know what standards she set. After all she was a member of that FSA branded as incompetent by Saint Hector.

And from the range of remarks on this blog it appears that others too are unimpressed.

@ Glen - well argued.

5 MONTHS GARDENING LEAVE!!?

They must be having a turkish.

Why is this required? It is only put in place when someone is being kept from another employer who is in direct competition ..or if the employee has been removed from the role as they have been deemed incapable of fulfilling their duties but a replacement can not be found immediately. If that is the case they need to tell us it is so.

More to do with the highly sensitive nature of the job?

David

You are correct in part, but it is also common for individuals to be placed on gardening leave for other reasons not connected to future empoyers or incapability.

I had a 3 month stint of gardeing leave putely and simply so that I would not be placed in a situation where I could have day to day contact with clients and possibily let slip comments which could potentially be damaging to the organisation.

In fact I was called in often for inut but it was jealously giarded "these four walls only" input without any client contact.

Whether or not any of these apply to Margaret Cole we may never know, but if I was a betting man I'd say it is to ensure that Margaret Cole is not placed in a position where she could influence intentionally or otherwise, colleagues, the media and others in a position to make capital ut of sich comments or behaviour to the detriment of the FSA.

Quite what form that influence could be we can only guess.

Ian Coley

Partner

Medical Investment Services

@David Henderson

FSA open and honest about her gardening leave? err.... I don't think so

From WikiPedia ~ Garden leave (or gardening leave) describes the practice whereby an employee who is leaving a job (having resigned or otherwise had his or her employment terminated) is instructed to stay away from work during the notice period, while still remaining on the payroll. This practice is often used to prevent employees from taking with them up-to-date (and perhaps sensitive) information when they leave their current employer, especially when they are leaving to join a competitor.

Employees continue to receive their normal pay during garden leave and are covered by any contractual duties, such as confidentiality agreements, until their notice period expires.

The term can also be used when employees are sent home whilst subject to disciplinary proceedings, when they are between projects, or when, as a result of publicity, their presence at work is considered counter-productive.

Hmmmm.......