At a recent Confederation of British Industry conference, Gordon Brown pledged to stop the burden placed on business by EU regulation, saying that they accounted for half of all new rules imposed.
He said that there were some areas where the Financial Services Authority had gone beyond what was required in Brussels, and that the recent green paper on mortgage credit was one area for concern. Generally, intermediaries have agreed with some of the proposals Mr Brown made, such as the regulation of secured loans by the Financial Services Authority, but are cautious of many others, believing that a lot of what he said was unhelpful and not geared for the UK market.
Our view
Red tape is readily enforced in the UK and somewhat intrepreted more loosley overseas.
The burden is heavy but we believe sometimes it is better for the consumer in the long run.