MLex: A UK consumer group is set to bring the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to court over its £9.1 billion car-finance redress plan, after claiming that drivers will be left undercompensated. The FCA set out in March 2026 its plan to compensate customers who were treated unfairly by lenders between 2007 and 2024. According to the FCA’s plan, each agreement that qualifies will yield an average redress of £829.

Law360: A consumer advocacy group urged the British financial regulator on 13 September 2024 to step in after it found that insurers were still charging up to 45% in interest for consumers who choose monthly payment plans for their annual premiums.

Law360, London: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) failed to protect former members of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) from foreseeable harm in a series of regulatory failings, the complaints commissioner has said.

The Treasury Committee has published a transcript of oral evidence given by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 8 May 2024, in which the chair and CEO of the FCA responded to questions on its recent consultation paper CP24/2—a new approach to the Enforcement Guide and publicising enforcement investigations. While he stressed that proposals to potentially name subjects of FCA investigations earlier were under consultation with no decision having been taken, FCA chair Ashley Alder conceded that the FCA had not been expecting ‘such a stern reaction as has come from industry’.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published policy statement PS24/17 which finalises updates to its Financial Crime Guide (FCG) and addresses feedback received in consultation paper CP24/9. The changes focus on sanctions, proliferation financing, transaction monitoring, cryptoasset businesses, the Consumer Duty, and other consequential changes such as data security and updating case studies. The updated FCG is relevant to all FCA financial crime supervised firms and firms supervised under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017, including cryptoasset businesses.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published Policy Statement PS25/1, which outlines final rules and guidance for reforming the UK's commodity derivatives regulatory framework, following feedback on Consultation Paper CP23/27. Key changes include transferring responsibility for setting position limits to trading venues, enhancing OTC derivatives position reporting and risk identification, narrowing the scope of position limits to critical contracts, and introducing new hedging exemptions. The implementation period extends until July 2026.

Scope of this Practice Note The Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR) was launched in August 2015. It was jointly led by HM Treasury (HMT) and the FCA. It explored how government, industry and regulators can take individual and joint steps to help develop a market that provides affordable and accessible financial advice and guidance to everyone. This Practice Note focuses on the measures identified in the recommendations arising from FAMR that impacted on the regulation of financial advice in the UK, including the extent and causes of the advice gap for those people without large wealth, the regulatory barriers for advice firms and the challenges presented by new and emerging technologies. Accordingly, it does not outline all of the recommendations that were set out in the FAMR final report. The FAMR followed on from the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), which resulted in amended rules being introduced from 31 December 2012 aimed at improving levels of professionalism within the intermediary sector of the retail investment market, remove the potential for commission bias, and enhance customers' understanding

This Practice Note provides detailed practical guidance on the constituent parts of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Financial Crime Guide: a firm’s guide to countering financial crime risks (FCG), and the FCA’s Financial Crime Thematic Reviews (FCTR), which together provide guidance to firms on steps they can take to reduce their financial crime risk, eg the risks related to: fraud, money laundering (ML), terrorist financing (TF), proliferation financing (PF), sanctions evasion, bribery and corruption and market abuse. It also sets out the FCA’s latest priorities in relation to financial crime and market abuse as set out in its strategy, work programmes and business plans. This Practice Note is relevant to firms regulated by the FCA under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000) and to e-money and payment institutions and cryptoasset businesses within the FCA’s supervisory scope (herein referred to as firms). For relevant FCA materials which support the FCA’s rules and guidance on financial crime such as Dear CEO and portfolio letters, speeches, and multi-firm reviews, so-called ‘supporting guidance’, see Checklist:

Financial crime is a key supervisory and enforcement priority for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA requires firms to implement systems and controls aligned with their regulatory and legislative obligations to identify and mitigate their financial crime risk. The FCA may take disciplinary and enforcement action against a firm and/or its senior management for deficient financial crime systems and controls, even if a breach or crime has not occurred. To assist firms in their compliance, the FCA publishes guidance in its Financial Crime Guide (FCG) and Financial Crime Thematic Reviews (FCTR), addressed in Practice Note: FCA financial crime guidance: FCG and FCTR. The FCA also publishes various materials providing additional guidance on its regulatory requirements. This Checklist sets out supporting materials published by the FCA relating to financial crime systems and controls in the form of multi-firm reviews, thematic reviews, case studies; supervisory correspondence, speeches, podcasts and webinars on the topics set out in the FCA’s FCG—insider dealing and market manipulation; money laundering and terrorist financing; fraud; bribery and corruption; and sanctions, asset freezes

Law360, London: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned that companies issuing shares to the public are taking differing approaches to how they identify and distribute insider information, finding that some are taking potentially unlawful action.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Arian Financial LLP (Arian) £288,962.53 for failing to implement effective systems and controls against financial crime, which exposed it to risks of fraudulent trading and money laundering on behalf of the Solo Group's clients. Arian breached Principles 2 and 3 of the FCA’s Principles for Business, which require firms to conduct business with due skill, care, and diligence, and to have adequate risk management systems. Arian admitted liability and the Upper Tribunal reduced the FCA's proposed fine from £744,745 to £288,962.53, considering the net financial benefit Arian received after fees, agreeing with the FCA on the severity of the misconduct.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Barclays £40m for breaching listing rules by failing to disclose fees related to advisory agreements with Qatari entities during the 2008 capital raisings. The FCA determined that Barclays acted recklessly and lacked integrity by not revealing advisory agreements' fees (amounting to £280m) which would have significantly increased the disclosed payments to Qatari entities. Barclays withdrew its Upper Tribunal referral challenging the FCA's action as set in Decision Notices published in October 2022.