Improved regulation has deterred a greater amount of financial misconduct in the UK since the global financial crisis, according to a new study from the University of East Anglia (UEA).
Since the crash in 2007 more incidents of financial misconduct have been investigated, with regulators applying increasingly large fines – but it is uncertain if these changes have reduced the occurrence of incidents.
The study by researchers at UEA, Bangor University, and the Universities of Warwick and Otago analysed the detection and deterrence of financial misconduct between 2002 and 2016. The findings, published by UEA's Centre for Competition Policy, show that while detected breaches of UK financial regulation fell after 2010, the corresponding level of deterrence actually rose in this period.
Dr Peter Ormosi, senior lecturer in competition economics at UEA's Norwich Business School, said: 'We believe this is strong evidence that the UK regulatory environment improved after 2010.'
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