Regulated firms have reported stronger satisfaction, trust and confidence in the Financial Conduct Authority in its latest annual survey with the Practitioner Panel. Seventy-nine per cent said they were highly satisfied with their relationship with the regulator, compared with 74% a year earlier. The share describing it as highly effective rose from 69% to 76%, while 75% reported high levels of trust.
The figures offer a timely measure of sentiment among the businesses that deal with the regulator, rather than an independent verdict on the quality of regulation. They nevertheless matter in a period when the authority is pursuing consumer-protection work alongside a statutory objective to support international competitiveness and growth.
Where confidence is strongest
Responding firms were most confident in the regulator’s work to protect consumers, with 87% expressing confidence in that area. Eighty-five per cent were confident in its work to ensure markets function well, and the same proportion reported confidence in its work to enhance the integrity of the UK financial system.
Those results place consumer protection and core market functions at the top of the survey’s confidence measures. They do not mean that every firm regards every intervention positively, nor do they settle debates about particular rules. Instead, they provide a snapshot of how regulated firms assess their relationship with the authority and its work across those broad functions.
Consumer Duty remains a central test
Understanding of Consumer Duty expectations was also high. Eighty-eight per cent of firms said they understood what is expected when supporting consumers and embedding the Duty. That is significant because the framework asks firms to focus on outcomes for customers, not simply whether a process has been completed.
The authority says it provided further guidance after feedback from the previous survey. The latest result suggests that the message is reaching much of the regulated population, although an understanding score should not be confused with evidence that implementation is complete or that customer outcomes have improved in every market.
Firms also reported a 27-percentage-point increase in understanding of the Secondary International Competitiveness and Growth Objective. Confidence in the authority’s delivery of that objective increased by 25 percentage points. The objective is intended to sit alongside the regulator’s primary responsibilities, rather than replace them, so the balance between competitiveness, innovation and consumer protection will remain closely watched.
Burden remains the qualification
The more positive scores came with a clear qualification. Firms identified regulatory burden as an area in which they want further progress, particularly the demands created by compliance and reporting. This is an important distinction: a better relationship score does not remove the practical cost of meeting regulatory obligations.
The authority says it is removing outdated or duplicated data returns for 90% of firms and estimates that changes already made will save businesses around £16 million a year. That work is relevant to a wide range of smaller and larger firms, but the survey does not establish how evenly those benefits will be felt or whether all reporting pressures have been resolved.
What the result can and cannot show
The annual survey gives the regulator and its Practitioner Panel a structured view from the industry it oversees. Rising satisfaction and trust may help explain why officials are emphasising clearer engagement and simpler information requests. Yet the results are perception measures, not a scorecard of enforcement outcomes, consumer losses avoided or market resilience.
For firms, the next test will be whether the reported improvements are matched by clearer expectations and less avoidable administrative work. For customers, the important question remains whether firms’ growing familiarity with the rules translates into consistently fairer treatment and better outcomes.
