David Prosser: Savings products at the end of their shelf life

Outlook Did we see the beginnings of a regulatory fight-back from the financial services industry yesterday? Publishing its response to a Financial Services Authority consultation on the future of regulation, the Association of British Insurers effectively said that the plan for a move to the policing of savings and investment products was a mistake. Instead, it wants the FSA and its successor, the Financial Conduct Authority, to concentrate on using the current rules more effectively.

Expect the ABI's members to receive short shrift on this. Given their 30-year history of flogging duff products to consumers – from endowment mortgages to split-capital investment trusts – right under the noses of a string of watchdog, a regulatory approach focused on what is being sold looks long overdue.