Financial Conduct Authority

Overview

The private wealth management sector is uniquely susceptible to financial crime risks, such as fraud, money laundering and sanctions breaches, as highlighted in the FCA’s Dear CEO letter.

Fraud volumes remain at record highs. Private wealth customers have lost significant sums to scams and fraud, and the regulators continue to focus their enforcement

Why this matters

The FCA has completed a major review of safeguarding for payment and e-money institutions. Its new rules are designed to reduce the risks seen in recent failures – where customers faced long delays and, on average, recovered only 35 per cent of the funds they were owed.

At the same time, the

A Commission Transparency Reckoning for Financial Services

On 1 August 2025, the Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited judgment in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd, Wrench v FirstRand Bank Ltd and Hopcraft & Anor v Close Brothers Ltd – reported together as [2025] UKSC 33.

The Court dismissed fiduciary duty and bribery claims but upheld

In a landmark decision in Johnson v FirstRand ([2025] UKSC 33), part of the broader Hopcraft appeals, the UK Supreme Court has ruled that car dealers who arrange finance do not owe fiduciary duties to their customers. This judgment significantly reshapes the legal landscape for motor finance claims and has immediate implications for both litigation

Bullying, harassment and violence set to be conduct issues under new FCA Rule

The Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”) recently published its Policy Statement and Consultation on non‑financial misconduct (“CP25/18”).  The FCA confirms in CP25/18 that its rules are being updated to better capture non‑financial misconduct (“NFM”) in recognition

On 5 June 2025, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA“) has published a statement  (“Statement“) setting out its current thinking on the possible implementation of a redress scheme for motor finance customers who may have been affected by discretionary commission arrangements (“Redress Scheme”).  

This follows the FCA’s earlier

On 11 March 2025, the Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”) published a statement clarifying that their rules, including with regards to sustainability, do not prevent investment in or financing of defence companies.  The FCA confirmed that it is at the discretion of investors or lenders as to whether they provide capital to defence

In the evolving landscape of financial services, there have been reports that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has recently classified FNZ, a prominent wealth management platform provider, as a ‘co-manufacturer’ of financial products. This designation carries significant regulatory implications, underscoring the critical role of product governance in ensuring consumer protection and market integrity.

Understanding the