The Financial Conduct Authority will use the millions of consumers who use financial products and services to ensure that the industry meets their needs and expectations, said its chairman John Griffith-Jones as the FCA published its annual report for 2013/14.

Covering its first year of operation Griffith-Jones said that industry welcomed the focus on conduct and was now more actively engaged with the regulator and more committed to ensuring better outcomes for consumers.

The challenge would be to build on this initial progress across the FCA’s remit in the months ahead.

He said: “We are far more engaged in what is happening for consumers; we are using the eyes and ears of the millions of people who use financial products to help inform and direct our work.

“The change in our focus has been broadly welcomed by industry and the response we have had from firms has helped us achieve some positive outcomes.”

“I have seen boardrooms across the country think about how they can put the consumer at the heart of the way they do business. What we want to see now is that change filter down to everyone involved in meeting consumer needs.”

The annual report looks at some of the key pieces of work undertaken by the FCA in its first twelve months which includes how the FCA intended to regulate consumer credit and payday lending.

It also shows the FCA raised £425 million in financial penalties during the period, and it banned 26 firms and individuals from operating in the regulated sector.

The FCA will host its first annual public meeting on July 17 at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London where members of the public can ask questions about the annual report.