The FSA has launched a discussion paper to open a public debate about how the FSA, and subsequently the proposed Consumer Protection and Markets Authority (CPMA), should pursue the objective of consumer protection and specifically the issue of product intervention.

In the foreword to the discussion paper, FSA chairman, Lord Turner, said: “The crucial issue is how far along this spectrum of earlier and more intense interventions we should progress. This debate comes at a critical time as the scope and powers of the CPMA are being discussed by the government