The Financial Services Act 1986 (c. 60) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the government of Margaret Thatcher to regulate the financial services industry.

Professor Laurence Gower had been asked to produce a report on financial regulation, followed by a draft bill.

[2] This relatively light approach to regulation followed a trend taking place in America under the Reagan administration.

[4] This exemption was not changed in the new Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

Under this, the SIB and SROs were merged to form the Financial Services Authority (FSA), and self-regulation took a back seat.