UK’s FCA to Establish Regional Offices in US and Asia-Pacific

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is establishing offices in the United States and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region to offer services like helping firms navigate U.K. regulations to enter the U.K. market or raise capital.

This is the first time the FCA has established regional offices like these, and it is part of the regulator’s efforts to improve exports and inward investment in the U.K., according to a Tuesday (April 15) press release.

“The U.K. is a global hub for financial services,” Sarah Pritchard, executive director of supervision, policy, competition and international at the FCA, said in the release. “We are committed to continuing to build our global network and international reputation.”

The FCA established its presence in the U.S. this month, with Tash Miah working at the British embassy in Washington, D.C., and cooperating with the Department for Business and Trade, according to the release. Miah started her career at Morgan Stanley investment bank in London, a role that included working in Hong Kong from 2018 to 2019, and has been with the FCA’s international division since 2022.

The regulator’s APAC office will be established in July in Australia by Camille Blackburn, per the release. Blackburn has 25 years’ experience in financial services regulation and has been the director of wholesale buyside at the FCA since 2022.

“These appointments will help us deliver on our mission to support growth through the export of U.K. financial services and attracting more inward investment to our shores,” Pritchard said in the release. “We recognize that major international investors want easier access to us, and having a presence in these key regions will help achieve that.”

The FCA was one of four financial authorities in the U.K. that said in December that they are working to improve their cooperation as the government pursues its National Payments Vision, which aims to support the payments sector in delivering economic growth.

In January, the FCA said in a letter to the Prime Minister that improving exports and inward investment is one of the regulator’s key commitments to growth.