This note provides an overview of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK financial services regulator responsible for the regulation of the conduct of firms authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). The FCA is also responsible for the regulation of conduct in retail and wholesale financial markets, supervision of the trading infrastructure that supports those markets and the prudential regulation of firms not regulated by the PRA.

The note considers the roles and responsibilities of the FCA, its legal status, its governance arrangements and the accountability mechanisms that apply to it.