The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has called on lawyers and in-house teams to engage with the organisation as it prepares to put its expanded competition powers into practice. 

In a keynote address at Legal Week's Banking Litigation & Regulation Forum this morning, FCA competition team manager Mark Bethell (pictured) said the regulator was "open for business" after acquiring new powers in April.

"I'm looking to you: if you have a competition problem let us know and we are keen to help," Bethell told the audience at the forum, which was attended by leading private practice partners as well as senior in-housers at financial institutions and corporates.

Firms with strong positions in certain markets could be particularly well-placed to assist the regulator, he added.

The FCA now has the ability to enforce breaches of the Competition Act and to refer matters to the Competition and Markets Authority for in-depth investigation.

"I can't say for certain how many cases we will take. It will very much depend on what we discover and what is brought to us," Bethell said.

"Competition has not been central to financial services regulation so far," he pointed out. "The FCA's new role stems from the financial crisis and the independent commission on banking led by Sir John Vickers. He made the point – which I of course agree with – that there needs to be more competition in financial services."

The FCA's competition division currently has around 50 staff, but this is set to increase to around 80 or 90, partly as a result of internal restructuring but also through new hires, according to Bethell.

"We like to reach out to everyone [because] we are doing a range of market studies work," he said. "It seems a much better approach to look at things from a broader perspective as opposed to a retrospective one."

Bethell added that the FCA is set to continue its ongoing programme of market studies in the near future. The regulator currently has two live market studies, one into the credit card market and the other into banking competition.

Legal Week's one-day conference was chaired by King & Wood Mallesons litigation partner Hilton Mervis. In his opening remarks, he said: "When you look at the [banking litigation and regulation] landscape now it's never been a more frightening time. There are dangers around every corner. [Financial institutions are] enforcing and controlling a culture of compliance that has increased the importance of the internal compliance and litigation departments."

Mervis added: "Private practice partners have seen a growth in interesting cases, both in terms of High Court cases and regulatory investigations."