Super-provincials bite

In the run-up to the inauguration of the Financial Services Authority regime, it now seems unlikely to have the devastating effect on broking that so many were predicting, says Amanda Blanc

Repeatedly, over the past two decades since the birth of Direct Line in 1984, the broker fraternity has defied assumptions that it is an endangered species. The opposite, however, is emerging to be true as this is an industry characterised by adaptability and resilience.

One of the more absurd suggestions has been that thousands of broking firms would disappear during the two years leading up to the introduction of regulation. Better to sell now, ran the theory, than to risk being regulated out