Ex-FCA consumer finance director joins Square 4 consultancy

Roma Pearson, formerly the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) Director of Consumer Finance, has quit the regulator to join specialist compliance consultancy Square 4, which is an associate member of the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) and has advised several motor finance clients including Blue Motor Finance.

As Director of Consumer Finance, Pearson was responsible for the FCA’s supervision and policy development in the consumer lending sector, so was working on the regulator’s car finance investigation until her resignation last September.

She was then in a non-frontline role until December, followed by three months of gardening leave before starting at Square 4 in March, according to comments Pearson made to the Times newspaper.

Her change of role follows a 25-year career with the FCA and its predecessor, the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Most recently she led on the supervision and policy development of the consumer lending market, and has also held several senior positions, including Head of Mortgages & Consumer Lending, Head of Retail General Insurance, and Head of Risk Advisory.

Commenting on her move to become Senior Advisory Director at Square 4 Partners, Pearson said: “I am excited to join Square 4 Partners at such a pivotal time for the financial services industry. With regulatory expectations evolving rapidly, firms are under increasing pressure to not only comply but to demonstrate real commitment to delivering good outcomes for consumers. I look forward to working with the team at Square 4 and our clients to provide practical, forward-thinking solutions that help them navigate these challenges with confidence.”

Square 4 Partners was founded in 2021, and its staff are a mix of former Big Four consultants, industry regulators, resource providers, and leaders of Global Systemically Important Financial Institutions.

Its senior management team includes chair Jeannette Lichner, who was a non-executive director at the FCA from 2020 to 2023, while managing director Matthew Drage was a supervisor at the FCA and fellow managing director Paul Scott held a similar role at the FSA.

Paul Scott, Managing Director at Square 4 Partners, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Roma to our award-winning advisory team. Her deep regulatory expertise and leadership experience at the FCA will be invaluable to our clients as they navigate complex compliance challenges and strive to meet the highest standards of governance and accountability.”

The FCA’s investigation into the use of discretionary commission arrangements within the motor finance sector is currently on hold, pending the outcome of the appeal heard at the Supreme Court at the beginning of April, which challenged last October’s Court of Appeal ruling on wider commission disclosure issues. The Supreme Court decision is not expected until July at the earliest.