Compliance Monitor

In February 2024 the Financial Conduct Authority published a new enforcement strategy, including controversial plans to name firms under investigation more frequently and earlier. (The proposals were softened after vigorous lobbying from the regulated sector and, with the consultation closing this month, a final decision is due soon). As joint executive directors of Enforcement and Market Oversight Therese Chambers and Steve Smart approach the second anniversary of their time in office, Neasa MacErlean asks about other aspects of the strategy, [1] which includes greater use of skilled persons reports, fewer cases and faster outcomes ...

Designed to consolidate and upgrade ICT risk requirements across EU financial services and beyond, DORA is now in force and similar UK rules apply fully in March 2025. Actions required for compliance are comprehensive and demand immediate attention, reports Jonathan Armstrong.

Firms have asked the Financial Conduct Authority for more guidance to help them embed the Consumer Duty, so the regulator has published a review of approaches to complaints root cause analysis, with good practice examples and areas for enhancement. But, are there better ways for businesses to improve? Adam Samuel challenges assumptions about this deceptively difficult subject.

The Arian Financial case underscores that third-party customer due diligence is not a shortcut. Firms must take active steps to ensure that outsourced checks meet regulatory standards and align with their risk-based frameworks, as well as get to the bottom of any concerns. By David Hamilton

The EU's DORA and MiCA are now fully in operation, while the UK has provided further clarity on its proposed regulatory framework for cryptoassets. Steven Lightstone outlines new and coming developments.

Research by the regulator has highlighted a seeming increase in reporting of poor behaviour, yet offenders rarely receive severe consequences such as pay adjustments, dismissal or mention in a regulatory reference. Denis O'Connor dissects the data.

In response to a review that found a congested regulatory landscape lacking a "clear agreed vision" or "North Star", the Government has published a roadmap to improve alignment and set priorities towards a trusted and innovative payments ecosystem. Martin Dowdall and Daniel Hirschfield unpack the contents of the Vision and assess its likely impact for the sector.

The Financial Conduct Authority's ongoing consultation about more frequent publication of the names of firms under investigation has sparked fierce pushback from the industry. Abdulali Jiwaji and colleagues in Frankfurt and Paris (Dr Jan Kraayvanger and Jérémie Fierville) give perspectives on the issue.

The number of financial promotions withdrawn or amended after FCA intervention doubled to nearly 20,000 in 2024 - a year that saw "a growing number of misleading and illegal" advertisements, according to the regulator.

The Supreme Court has blocked the extradition of a London-based trader to the United States through a decision that turned on the location of where the "acts specified in the extradition request were physically done", and - if they were held to take place in the United Kingdom - whether they would constitute an offence here.

A 55-year-old financial adviser from Hampshire is to appear before Portsmouth Magistrates Court on 17 April, charged by the FCA with multiple fraud offences in relation to the alleged theft from clients, family, friends and a vulnerable child of more than £2.3 million.