Consumer Coalition Urges FCA to Halt Controversial Email Deletion Plans

In an open letter, several stakeholders express their concerns about the upcoming FCA email deletion policy, scheduled to take effect on April 1. This controversial policy is believed to jeopardize the efforts aimed at holding the organization accountable, impacting Freedom of Information (FoI) requests, external reviews mandated by the Treasury, and ongoing legal challenges.

Concerns Over Transparency and Accountability

The coalition of signatories vehemently disagrees with the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) justification that the policy will not result in “deleting evidence, hiding information, or reducing transparency.” They highlight that the FCA has acknowledged the policy’s intent to mitigate “the legal and reputational risk we face.”

Impact on Future Legal Proceedings

The letter emphasizes that the FCA’s approach to retaining only select emails cannot ensure comprehensive compliance with various inquiries. The signatories argue that:

• The organization cannot accurately predict which emails will be necessary for future FoI or Data Subject Access Requests (DSAR).
• Important communications may be lost during Parliamentary Committee inquiries, HMT inquiries, litigation, and judicial reviews.
• The FCA’s own supervisory and enforcement activities could be compromised.

Voices of Concern from Industry Experts

Among the co-signatories, Aleksandra Maczynska, managing director at Better Finance, emphasized the potential risks associated with this policy. She stated, “Better Finance actively collaborates with supervisory authorities throughout Europe and is alarmed by the FCA’s decision to automatically delete emails after a year. We urge reconsideration of what could set a dangerous precedent.”

Former Thames Valley Police Crime Commissioner, Anthony Stansfeld, criticized the FCA’s stance as naive. He remarked, “Evidence, no matter how insignificant it may seem initially, should never be discarded. One email can be crucial in prosecuting a case.”

The Need for Regulatory Credibility

Andy Agathangelou, founder of the Transparency Task Force, also voiced concerns, stating that introducing a policy that risks deleting critical evidence undermines the FCA’s regulatory credibility. He suggested, “To protect what remains of the FCA’s domestic and international reputation, it’s essential to halt these plans or at least pause them until a proper inquiry by the Treasury Committee can take place.”

For more information on the implications of this policy, visit FCA’s official site.