Another day, another exposé of busted Britain with an excoriating report by an all-party parliamentary group on the shortcomings of the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) whose principal role is to protect consumers. ‘A “toxic” culture at the City watchdog has made it easier for fraudsters to prey on consumers.’ The agency’s failings were deemed “incompetent at best, dishonest at worst”. “It comes across as an opaque and unaccountable organisation, slow to act and even slower to admit it has got things wrong and to change – with profoundly defective leadership.”
The chief executive Nikhil Rathi has been linked to the forthcoming job of Cabinet secretary and was a senior civil servant under the last Labour administration, serving under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He was singled out in the report for having a “tin ear” and a “lack of empathy for individuals”.
Although important, the FCA won’t be featuring on most of our radar and is only featured here since the astrology is wonderfully precise.
Founded on 1 April 2013, it has a Uranus, Sun, Venus, Mars conjunction in Aries square Pluto – with the Uranus, Sun and Venus all being rattled by the recent October Libra Solar Eclipse and next March’s Aries Solar Eclipse – and that is some turbulence.
The FCA also has a yod of Saturn sextile Pluto in conjunct Jupiter hinting at an organization which has the capacity to make social improvements but could be brought low by arrogance.
Nikhil Rathi, the Chief Executive, 5 August 1979, has a stellium in Leo with his Sun conjunct an expansive Jupiter trine Neptune sextile Pluto and square an impulsive Uranus; plus Venus, Mercury also in Leo. Attention-seeking and super-ambitious. He is on an exact Saturn Half Return at the moment; and has his Solar Arc Mars conjunct his Sun and his SA Sun square his natal Mars – both coming soon which usually coincide with a shock or a collision of sorts.
Interesting. I made a complaint about my UK pension fund to this lot and got nowhere. Based in Australia, it seems to me, many of these regulatory bodies are just there to ‘be seen’ to be providing regulatory oversight, when in fact their role is more of making inconvenient truths go away quietly. Until finally, there is sufficient groundswell to get some proper review of their functions to effect change. By then, of course, for many it is too late. I do genuinely think there should be legal consequences for the leaders of these operations.
A piece by Matthew Lynn in The Telegraph yesterday said that Britain is perilously close to bankruptcy. I would be very interested to hear your astro-thoughts on that, Marjorie – or maybe you have already covered it (in which case a link would be much appreciated!)?
The Telegraph is getting increasingly hysterical these days. It is true that USA, France, UK etc have massively extended their debt in recent years so there may come a tipping point. Trump is unlikely to improve the situation over there, ditto Macron and the present UK government is making a shambles of the economics. But apart from the UK’s SA Uranus conjunct the 8th house Mars this year no shrieking red flags – and bankruptcy a la South America seems unlikely.
OK. Many thanks for the reassurance! 🙂
This news comes at the same time as the National Audit Office has refused to sign off the UK Government Whole Accounts because of issues with local government finances. In this instance the problem can be traced back to the disastrous decision by the Cameron administration to abolish the Audit Commission on 31 March 2015. The list of failures of due diligence and maladministration in Britain just keeps getting longer.
For some reason, this reminded me of Macy’s audit trouble news.
Founded in 2013 is what boggles my non-British mind here. There must have been a predecessor, though? Finnish Fina too is founded in 2009, but the closest predecessor was founded after the State had to bail out commercial banks in the early 1990’s.
Talking about scammers, here in Finland, in the news in the few days have been the OneCoin, likely the biggest scam in Europe and Asia in the 2010’s recruiter, Kari Wahlroos (no connection to banker of the same surnane) dying. Not mysteriously like the still missing, presumed dead figurehead Ruja Ignatova, but of a sepsis in Malesian hospital. I know people this guy “recruited”, they likely lost a couple of 10 k € maximum, but school friend’s parents had to come back from the retirement to keep their second home they’d hoped to finance mining crypto.
There was it was called the FSA, literally a letter change!
Thanks Marjorie. Very interesting what you say about the eclipses and turbulence in the organisation.
Funnily enough, another so-called watchdog, Ofwat, has been criticised now for over a year for its many failures and inability to control greedy water companies. Founded 1 April 1989 – with Sun 11 Aries, Mercury 7 Aries, Venus 10 Aries squaring Saturn 13 Capricorn, Uranus 5 Capricorn, and Neptune 12 Capricorn. The eclipses are right there! With a Gemini Jupiter at 3 degrees, Uranus may have something to say before moving on to the Mars, 12 Gemini. I do hope there’s a serious shake-up for this organisation. They have even been criticised by the UN for their incompetence.
I gave evidence for this report over 2 years ago and am one of the 175 respondents. I really hope something comes of it!
Parans for Nikhil Rathi: Neptune sets when Acumens on IC….”Ethics or
human rights called into action.”
Neptune rising when Antares rising…”Corruption becomes evident.”
Pluto on IC when Fomalhaut sets…”The crisis or changes that occur.”
Pluto rising when Alphecca culminates…”Those who seek power become undone.”
Pluto rising when Alhena culm…..”A shift of foundation, taking a different path of action.”
Mercury on IC when Fomalhaut rises….”False reports.”
Saturn culminates when Alkes culm….”A vessel is broken, the law or leaders, need to be changed.”
Saturn on IC when Alhena rises….”Putting forth new policies for social reforn.”
From Sky News – “In her speech at the Mansion House last week, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, said that regulation of the City after the banking crisis had gone too far, and that watchdogs now needed to “regulate for growth”. ”
I won’t be surprised if this all is happening now because Reeves wants to relax regulations. How that would pan out?
Thank you for this one Marjorie – really interesting. And also your comment ‘He is on an exact Saturn Half Return at the moment’ – this is one particular aspect (to which I pay much attention to over the years) and which I have found to bring home to roost, the problem(s) which have been festering but not resolving.
Perhaps now, attention wil be focused, at last, on the serious shortcomings of the of FCA following this report.