The City watchdog has backed down on plans to force thousands of firms to comply with strict new consumer rules after pressure from Rachel Reeves to slash red tape. On Tuesday, Nikhil Rathi, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) chief, said he planned to water down the watchdog’s controversial consumer duty reforms introduced in 2023, which aimed to make investing less risky for savers. The changes, which aimed to boost protections for customers, had caused a headache for thousands of City firms because ...