The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is recruiting over 100 people to work in a new digital distribution center in Leeds, as it expands its presence across the UK.
Data services specialist and former IBM employee Phil Nixon will lead the Leeds center, which will work with other FCA teams.
FCA also plans to double the workforce in its Edinburgh office to about 200 and increase recruitment in data and technology.
“As a national regulator, it is important that we have a truly national footprint. This means there are peers in all parts of the UK,” said FCA CEO Nikhil Rathi.
“I am delighted that we are one step closer to opening our new Leeds office in a city with a growing reputation as a digital and technology hub.”
Leeds City Council leader James Lewis said he looked forward to welcoming FCA to the city, which has “financial, digital and tech sectors that are strong and resilient” and “a population that is innovative, diverse and full of talent.” Is” .
The growing importance of data to oversee the rapidly expanding finance sector is driving a major expansion of the technical teams at FCA.
In June, FCA said, as part of its “heavy” investment in data, it would hire people with expertise in artificial intelligence, analytics and data science, as well as cloud engineering and digital technology.
At the time, Jessica Russo, chief data, information and intelligence officer at FCA, said that better use of data would allow it to be more proactive and find and prevent damage faster. “We are continuing to improve our data, technology and capabilities to act decisively in the interests of consumers, while making it easier for firms to report to us,” he said.
About 100,000 websites are scanned daily by the FCA to identify potential scams. Between May 2021 and April 2022, the FCA added 1,966 potential scams to its consumer alert list – nearly a third more than in the same period last year.
The regulator also uses advanced analytics and new sources of data to identify inappropriate financial advertisements. In the same period, 564 ads were withdrawn or modified after being flagged by the FCA – doubling the number during the previous 12 months.
