On 11 September 2024, City & Merchant Limited entered liquidation with Dermot Coakley and Shaun Walker of WSM Marks Bloom LLP appointed as joint liquidators. City & Merchant Limited is an FCA authorised firm that provided corporate finance advice, fund management and trading services.On 14 June 2024, we placed restrictions on the firm to prevent […]

The FCA intends to launch a market study into how pure protection insurance products are sold following concerns that competition is not working well in the market. The study will be launched later in 2024/25. Pure protection products are designed to help individuals and their families with their finances should the policyholder die or become […]

The FCA has fined Cypriot contract for differences (CFD) firm Forex TB Limited (FXTB) £276,100 for failing to treat its customers fairly, and for providing investment advice without being authorised to do so. CFDs are complex leveraged financial products used to speculate on the movement in prices on a wide range of assets. As a […]

The FCA has banned Martin Sarl from working in the financial services industry and fined him £5,021 for acting without honesty and integrity. Between 7 November 2017 and 24 October 2019, Mr Sarl, who was the sole director at Perry Prowse (Insurance Consultants) Ltd, failed to pass clients’ premiums to insurers, meaning that some customers […]

On 2 July 2024, Central Markets Investment Management Limited (CMIM) entered creditors’ voluntary liquidation. Dominik Thiel-Czerwinke and Louise Donna Baxter of Begbies Traynor (Central) LLP were appointed as joint liquidators. CMIM (firm reference number (FRN 475828)) has entered creditors’ voluntary liquidation. CMIM is a regulated firm that provides contracts for difference for retail and professional […]

The FCA has fined PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) for failing to report to the regulator their belief that London Capital & Finance plc (LCF) might be involved in fraudulent activity. This is the first time the FCA has fined an audit firm. PwC encountered significant issues throughout their 2016 audit of LCF. A senior individual at […]

Insurers and brokers have improved governance and oversight of how products are designed, managed, reviewed, and distributed, but many still cannot show how they are providing fair value to customers or that they were receiving good outcomes. In a report published today, the FCA set out issues with information sharing between insurers and brokers, and […]

On 27 August 2024, the Upper Tribunal ruled in the FCA’s favour on the refusal to allowThomas Llewellyn Kalaris to perform senior manager functions. Laura Dawes, director of authorisations at the FCA, said: 'We welcome the Tribunal's ruling. It unanimously found that Mr Kalaris was dishonest in 2 enforcement interviews the FCA conducted into events […]

On 23 August 2024, the director of Facet Investment Management Limited (Facet) placed the firm into administration. Ian Lawrence Goodhew and Abigail Shearing from Voscap Ltd were appointed as the Joint Administrators. Background to the firmFacet is a wealth management and independent financial planning firm that provides discretionary investment management services. Customers may have received […]

The FCA has set out good practice and areas for improvement to help principal firms effectively monitor their Appointed Representatives (ARs). The findings follow a review of how principals are meeting its enhanced AR rules, introduced in December 2022. The analysis involved a telephone survey with 251 principals and in-depth assessments of documentation from 23 […]

Our new research highlights when and how firms can improve their communications to help consumers to make informed decisions about their retirement savings. Our research used behavioural insights to create and test different email designs and subject lines. It aimed to overcome common barriers, like the tendency to focus on the present rather than the […]

In a new report, the FCA encourages account providers to do more to support those who want a bank account but don’t have one. The FCA has recognised that banks, building societies and payment firms are trying to support customers to access accounts and is encouraging them to build on examples of existing good practice, […]

Final announcement about the forthcoming end of LIBOR. It is now less than 1 month to go until the 1-, 3- and 6-month synthetic US dollar LIBOR settings cease permanently after their final publication on Monday 30 September 2024.Further to our June 2024 decision (PDF), we have required ICE Benchmark Administration Limited (IBA) to continue […]

Speech by Sarah Pritchard, executive director, markets and executive director, international at the Financial Crime Summit, London. Speaker: Sarah Pritchard, executive director, markets and executive director, internationalEvent: The Financial Crime Summit, LondonDelivered: 05/09/2024Note: This is a drafted speech and may differ from the delivered versionHighlightsFighting financial crime is a priority for the FCA and a key […]

The FCA has published its Annual Report, which shows significant improvements in its authorisations service. Read our Annual Report and AccountsRecognising the vital role that the regulator plays in enabling new financial services firms’ ability to meet regulatory standards to get off the ground, the FCA has improved its authorisation process. Now 98% of cases, […]

Mr Adrian Douglas, Mr Liam Martin and Mr Frank Oxberry have each referred their Decision Notices to the Upper Tribunal. The findings outlined in the Decision Notices given to them reflect the FCA’s belief as to what occurred and how it considers their conduct should be characterised. The proposed action outlined in their Decision Notices […]

Speech by Sarah Pritchard, executive director of markets and international, delivered at the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce conference. Speaker: Sarah Pritchard, executive director of markets and internationalEvent: The Capital Markets Industry Taskforce conferenceDelivered: 6 September 2024Note: This is the speech as drafted and may differ from the delivered versionKey messagesWe are continuing with our ambitious […]

We're offering firms temporary flexibility to comply with ‘naming and marketing’ rules under our Sustainability Disclosure Requirements regime until 2 April 2025. Our Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) and investment labels regime (PS23/16) were published on 28 November 2023.With global assets under management in environmental, social and governance (ESG)-oriented assets expected to increase to $34trn by […]

The FCA has charged MrOlumide Osunkoya,who is 45 and resides in London, for unlawfully running multiple crypto ATMs without FCA registration. Crypto ATMs are machines that allow you to buy or convert money into cryptoassets. Mr Osunkoya is accused of running crypto ATMs, which processed £2.6m in crypto transactions across multiple locations between 29 December […]

The FCA has censured the auditor Macintyre Hudson LLP (MHA) for failing to prepare client assets reports to the required standard. MHA failed to notify the FCA of rule breaches by firms it had audited, which could have put customers’ money at risk. Client asset protection is a key part of maintaining market confidence, financial […]