At the end of last month a senior compliance officer at UBS AG (“UBS“) and her financial securities trader associate were each sentenced to three years imprisonment for five offences of insider dealing, following successful criminal proceedings brought by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA“). Confiscation proceeding are also being pursued against both defendants.… Continue Reading
Raphael & Sons plc (the “Bank“) has been hit by separate fines from the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (together, the “Regulators“) of £775,100 and £1,112,152 respectively. An IT issue with one of the Bank’s third party card processor’s left over 3,300 customers unable to use their prepaid cards on Christmas Eve … Continue Reading
The Financial Regulators Complaints Commissioner has recommended that the Financial Conduct Authority makes an ex gratia payment of £6,500 to an individual complainant. The recommended payment represents 50% of the total loss suffered by the Complainant as a result of errors in the Financial Services Register. The Complaints Commissioner acknowledged that the FCA should not … Continue Reading
When FCA Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight Mark Steward spoke in London last month, his comments could hardly have been more timely. Hot on the heels of his remarks on dual-track (civil and criminal) AML investigations came a significant fine arising out of a firm’s AML systems and controls. It also came as the … Continue Reading
The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) has just published its Business Plan for 2019/20, setting out its strategic objectives and priorities for the year ahead.… Continue Reading
In Radia v Jeffries International Limited, UKEAT/0123/18 the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) held that an employer, Jeffries International Limited (“Jeffries”), properly dismissesd an employee where Jeffries considered that the employee fell short of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (“FCA”) ‘fit and proper person’ requirements that are set out in the FCA Handbook.… Continue Reading
A recent speech by the Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) has highlighted the progress of the partly contested process for disciplinary action. The first three cases using the process have now completed, although only details as to the first two cases were available as the time of going … Continue Reading
Back in January, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published a letter to the CEOs of regulated firms warning them against misleading financial promotions. As we noted in our previous blog, onthe subject, the letter specifically concerned firms not making clear which parts of their business are subject to FCA regulation and, importantly, which are not. It appears … Continue Reading
The Financial Conduct Authority has imposed a fine of £34,344,700 on Goldman Sachs International (“GSI”) for breaches of transaction reporting obligations. The fine comes just over a week after the FCA imposed a £27,599,400 fine against UBS (which we considered in an earlier blog post). Both fines result from breaches of obligations imposed by MiFID … Continue Reading
The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) has just published an Industry Insights document (“Insights”) on cyber security. Whilst not containing any formal guidance or rules, the Insights highlight the risks of cyber attacks to FCA regulated firms and confirms industry best practice around the key areas relating to cyber resilience: governance, identification, protection, detection, situational awareness, response … Continue Reading
In 2014 the FCA took over responsibility for regulation of consumer credit. In 2015 it conducted its first thematic review of the debt management sector, looking at commercial and not-for-profit firms that provide debt advice and administer debt management plans. The FCA’s goal was to improve outcomes for customers in what is perceived to be … Continue Reading
The Financial Conduct Authority has imposed a fine of £27,599,400 on UBS AG for breaches of transaction reporting obligations imposed by MiFID (the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (2004/39/EC), as well as a breach of Principle 3 of the FCA’s Principles of Business, which requires regulated firms to take reasonable care to organize and control … Continue Reading
Overview The Financial Conduct Authority published a policy statement on 28 February 2019 setting out near-final rules and guidance that will apply to financial services firms in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Most notable is the introduction of a 15-month ‘grace period’ for firms to comply with rule changes in the event of a … Continue Reading
The conclusion of a three-year investigation into price collusion in an initial public offering (‘IPO’) saw the FCA issue a decision, on 21 February 2019, which finds three investment firms (the ‘Firms’) to have breached competition law with fines of £414,900 have been imposed as a result. This is the FCA’s first formal decision under … Continue Reading
Earlier this month the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) updated its website with its plans to announce in Spring 2019 the next stage in its ongoing consultation on the introduction of a new duty of care for financial services firms (“New Duty”).… Continue Reading
The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) has published a consultation paper (“Guidance”) providing guidance on the regulation of cryptoasset activities.… Continue Reading
After a relatively quiet year for fines in 2018, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA“) has already published two Final Notices this week confirming the first fines of 2019 that total over £79 million.… Continue Reading
Last week, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published a letter addressed to the CEOs of all regulated firms concerning financial promotions. In particular, the FCA highlighted its concerns over financial promotions that falsely implied that all of a firm’s activities were regulated by the FCA or the Prudential Regulation Authority (“PRA”), when in fact they were … Continue Reading
The FCA’s latest update on its review of pension transfer advice does not make for happy reading. The stats As part of its ongoing review of the pensions transfer industry, the FCA reviewed advice on 154 transfers made by 18 firms (out of a total of 48,248 potential transfers advised on by these firms in … Continue Reading
Last week the FCA published a Decision Notice which imposed a fine of £76,400 on the former CEO of Sonali Bank (UK) Ltd (“SBUK“), Mohammed Ataur Rahman Prodhan (“Mr Prodhan“), for “acting without due skill, care and diligence and for being knowingly concerned in a breach by SBUK of its obligations to maintain effective anti-money laundering … Continue Reading
In light of rapid developments in the market, the substantial potential of applications of distributed ledger technology (DLT), and growing evidence of the risks associated with cryptoassets; the Chancellor of the Exchequer launched the Cryptoassets Taskforce, comprising HM Treasury (HMT), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England (BoE), in March 2018 as … Continue Reading
The Upper Tribunal, the independent Court that hears appeals from FCA decisions, last week upheld the regulator’s decision to fine Stewart Ford, the former CEO of Keydata Investment Services Limited, a huge £76million (the largest FCA fine on an individual) and ban him from working in the financial services industry. The Tribunal decided that the FCA had been correct to ban and fine … Continue Reading
In a move designed to (in their own words) ‘ensure more complainants receive fair compensation’ and to ‘build consumer trust in the integrity of the industry’, on 16 October 2018 the FCA published a Consultation Paper in which the regulator outlines proposals for increasing the Financial Ombudsman Service money award limit from £150,000 to £350,000 for … Continue Reading
The last 18 months or so has seen a slight readjustment or nuancing of the FCA’s “credible deterrence” policy (which was all about tough, targeted and public disciplinary action with increasing fines and naming and shaming) that has been at the heart of the regulator’s enforcement strategy since 2008.… Continue Reading
