FCA enforcement cases on the rise
22 July 2022
The FCA published its Annual Report this week, which included a summary of its enforcement activities (for the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022).
The data reveals an increase in the number of enforcement cases opened by the FCA and the regulator's continued focus on investigating individuals.
The time the FCA is taking to complete regulatory investigations (33 months on average) is an area of real concern. It is quite apparent that the FCA has a workload in excess of what it is capable of handling given resource constraints (the figures report an 11% fall in enforcement headcount). This places a particular strain on individuals being investigated, as they have a cloud hanging over them for an extended period of time.
Key takeaways
- As at the end of the 2021/22 financial year, the FCA had 603 cases open in relation to 230 investigations.
- The FCA opened 194 enforcement cases in 2021/22 (109 into individuals and 85 into firms). This is up from 125 cases opened in 2020/21.
- 370 of the open cases related to individuals and only 233 related to firms.
- The main issues being investigated included: retail conduct (83 cases); insider dealing (71 cases); wholesale conduct (53 cases); and financial crime (47 cases). It is also clear that the FCA is policing the regulatory perimeter more closely - 210 of the FCA's open cases related to unauthorised business (up from 176 in the previous year).
- The total value of financial penalties imposed by the FCA increased to £313m in 2021/22 (up from £190m in 2020/21).
Authors: Adam Jamieson, Partner and Nathan Willmott, Partner
