Regulated activities

The general prohibition

There is a fundamental prohibition at the heart of the UK regulatory regime whereby a person cannot carry out a regulated activity in the UK, or purport to do so, unless they are either authorised or exempt. This is known as the 'general prohibition' under section 19 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000). Technically, the general prohibition only applies to a person carrying out a regulated activity in the UK but it is not always straightforward working out whether this is actually the case, especially where activities have a cross-border element. For more information, see Practice Notes: Carrying on unauthorised business and breaching the general prohibition and Territorial scope of the general prohibition.

The general prohibition does not apply to a person who is a member of Lloyd's in relation to a regulated activity relating to contracts of insurance written at Lloyd's unless either the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) specifically directs. The FCA can only make such a direction if it considers that giving the direction is necessary or expedient