Speaking at a lunch in London organised by the French Chamber of Commerce, Tiner presented his view on the future of financial regulation in Europe. He suggested that the ideal for both the regulator and the regulated would be a system which is "sensible, proportionate, avoids or minimises duplication and is cost effective in the context of the benefits regulation brings for markets and consumers".

Whilst many would not argue against the existence of regulation to guard against major financial instability, maintain efficient, orderly and fair markets and protect the interests of consumers, Tiner said it is the way regulation is conducted which causes extensive debate.

"The FSA has a clear view on this", Tiner said. "We believe it is managements' job to organise, manage and control their businesses in a way which meets a set of high level principles determined by the regulator necessary to safeguard the interest of customers and secure the safety and fairness of markets. Sometimes, it makes sense to underpin those principles with detailed rules or guidance, but it should not be the regulators job to tell management how to run their business."

"The FSA operates a hybrid system of high level principles and an extensive book of detailed rules, which have come about partly as a legacy of the former fragmented regulatory structure in the UK and partly from the implementation of EU directives. I aim to change this balance so we look more to the principles and less to detailed bureaucratic prescription on what exactly regulated firms have to do."

Tiner was however guarded in promising too much too quickly. The changes he said would "be gradual and will take time to execute" citing "highly prescriptive" EU legislation such as the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) as working against the principles he had outlined. FSA Chairman, Callum McCarthy, has also previously been deeply critical of MiFID, questioning the short timetable, the lack of any cost-benefit analysis by the EU and doubting the benefits the Directive will deliver for UK firms.

Conversely, Tiner said that other legislation such as the Capital Requirements Directive for implementing Basel II in Europe will, he hoped, "create much more alignment between how the management view the economics and risks of their business and the regulatory capital needed to support that business".