The Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA) is still hopeful of more amendments to the Financial Services Bill, including the reintroduction of a long-stop, after the legislation progressed through its latest stage.
The Bill, which will formally split up the Financial Services Authority and see more power handed to the Bank of England, passed through its House of Commons committee stage yesterday and will now be opened up to all MPs to consider further amendments, before going to the House of Lords.
Despite lobbying efforts from AIFA and other organisations and businesses, no members of the committee proposed to reintroduce a long-stop, while attempts to make the regulator more accountable to Parliament also failed.
However, Chris Hannant, policy director at AIFA, said there were still more opportunities to effect changes, insisting he will continue to lobby on the long stop and other issues.
"It's a game of two halves and we've not given up yet," he said. "We'll seek to influence it in the Lords.
"The Lords tend to be more independent by nature and there's a large number of people with diverse interests. They are much more open to ideas, whereas the commons is more tightly whipped."
During the latest committee stage, voting on amendments largely stuck to party lines, with the Conservatives effectively whipping its members to avoid any changes which were not supported by financial secretary Mark Hoban.
The Bill is expected to receive a Royal Warrant by the end of this year and the changes to the regulatory regime will be formalised early next year.
