Britain’s Financial Services Authority unveiled plans to boost the fines it can charge for misconduct on Monday as it aims to create a better deterrent for possible violators.

The proposed new penalty framework could mean some fines are triple what they would be currently, the FSA said: “The new plans reflect the FSA’s determination to change behaviour and address concerns that firms are repeatedly failing to improve standards. They will also ensure that fines better reflect the scale of the wrongdoing and that any profits made from the breaches are clawed back.”

Under the new proposals, fines would be linked more closely to income. For example, it may charge a firm up to 20% of its income from the product or business area linked to a breach and up to 40% of an individual’s salary and benefits (including bonuses).

Additionally, in cases involving market abuse, the minimum starting point for individual fines would be £100,000. The framework would also include disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, punishment based on the severity of the breach, considering aggravating or mitigating factors, and establishing a deterrent.

“These proposals are an important step in pushing forward our ethos of credible deterrence. By hitting companies and individuals in the pocket, where it hurts, the fines will be a stark warning to others on what they can expect to pay for flouting our rules. Moving to this new framework will enable our enforcement policy to continue making a real difference to consumers and to changing behaviour in the financial services sector,” stressed Margaret Cole, the FSA’s director of enforcement.

The consultation on the proposed new approach will close on Oct. 21, and any new policy is likely to apply to breaches committed after February 2010.