Top staff at the Financial Conduct Authority have called on City firms to help it speed up its approvals process by making sure their paperwork is in order, as complaints continue to pour in over how long the regulator is taking to green-light firms' applications.

Financial services companies have been complaining for months now about how requests to run new businesses or appoint new management are being handled by the regulator, as delays in the vetting process have crept up during the pandemic.