Financial Services Authority (FSA)

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) of the United Kingdom is an independent non-governmental body, given statutory powers by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The FSA is a company limited by guarantee and financed by the financial services industry. It is accountable to Treasury Ministers, and through them to Parliament.

The FSA has set out its aims under three broad headings:

• promoting efficient orderly and fair markets;
• helping retail consumers achieve a fair deal; and
• improving our business capability and effectiveness.

One of the FSA's statutory objectives is to reduce the extent to which it is possible for a business to be used for a purpose connected with financial crime. Financial crime includes any offence involving money laundering, fraud or dishonesty, or market abuse. The objective interacts with its three other objectives – protecting consumers; market confidence; and public awareness.