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FCA news & analysis
565 FCA publications, newest first, 16 of them priority (score 90+). Our own commentary is in Our analysis Showing 1–21 of 21.
- DecisionThe not-so-fine print: making consumer contracts fairWhat changed – The FCA Decision “the not‑so‑fine print: making consumer contracts fair” reiterates that all firms must ensure every term in a consumer contract complies with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) and the FCA’s Consumer Duty. Unfair terms are now explicitly unenforceable and may trigger redress, court injunctions or voluntary undertakings. Who’s affected – All UK‑authorised firms that supply financial products or services to consumers – including lenders, insurers, financial advisers, crypto‑wallet providers and any other firm using standard terms and conditions. Actions to consider (process steps only) 1. Contract review – Conduct a systematic check of all consumer‑facing terms against CRA fairness and transparency tests. 2. Identify gaps – Flag any terms that could be deemed unfair (e.g., excessive fees, ambiguous wording, deterrent complaint charges). 3. Amend/delete – Revise or remove non‑compliant terms and stop relying on them in existing contracts. 4. Redress planning – Prepare to calculate and pay compensation to any customers harmed by the unfair term. 5. Undertaking/notification – If required, submit a voluntary undertaking to the FCA and update the FCA register. 6. Monitor – Put ongoing governance in place to catch future unfair terms before product launch. Deadlines – Firms should complete the initial review and implement any necessary changes within 30 days of receiving a FCA notice; redress payments must be made as soon as practicable, typically within 60 days of the FCA’s final order. Source – FCA Decision, “The not‑so‑fine print: making consumer contracts fair” – Decision document. URL: https://www.fca.org.uk/decision/not-so-fine-print‑making‑consumer‑contracts‑fair.Consumer CreditInsurance6 November 2026
- DecisionFCA decides to ban and fine Daniel Thomas over unauthorised pension transfer adviceThe FCA has decided to ban Daniel Thomas from working in financial services and fine him £742,700 after finding he recklessly gave defined benefit pension transfer advice he was neither qualified nor allowed to give.3 September 2026
- DecisionFCA fines and bans former SVS Securities CEOThe FCA has banned Demetrios Hadjigeorgiou from working in senior management positions in financial services and fined him £56,400. Mr Hadjigeorgiou was the former director and chief executive officer (CEO) of SVS Securities Plc (SVS), a discretionary fund manager.The FCA found that Mr Hadjigeorgiou failed to properly manage SVS and protect its customers’ interests.While he was CEO, the firm invested customers’ money, including pension savings, in high-risk products while receiving significant payments from the companies that issued them.Mr Hadjigeorgiou also failed to challenge a decision that reduced the value of customers’ bond investments by 10% when they decided to sell them. This generated £359,800 for SVS at the expense of its customers. Customers were not clearly told about this reduction and, as a result, some lost part of their pension savings.The ban and fine were imposed after Mr Hadjigeorgiou settled his case with the FCA and withdrew his referral to...Banking19 August 2026
- DecisionTribunal upholds FCA ban on pair involved in pension transfer advice and reduces finesThe Upper Tribunal upheld the FCA's decision to ban Richard Fenech and Heather Dunne from working in financial services. The Tribunal agreed that both acted dishonestly by providing a backdated appointed representative agreement to the FCA.The Tribunal found that Ms Dunne falsely claimed she had given advice to some pension schemes before she had done so. Also, that she had failed to take proper care when giving pension transfer advice. Meanwhile Mr Fenech failed to properly oversee her work.Ms Dunne advised about 92% of her clients to move out of defined benefit pension schemes between April 2015 and June 2017. This led to more than £126m being transferred, including when it was not in clients’ best interests.The FCA had based both fines on the finding that all of Ms Dunne's advice breached regulatory requirements. The Tribunal ruled that the fines should reflect its finding that 18% of Ms Dunne's clients...4 August 2026
- DecisionEnforcement Watch 2Newsletter covering insights and themes from our enforcement work. ... About this editionIn our second edition of Enforcement Watch, we cover our recent approach to supervising and enforcing the Consumer Duty.7 July 2026
- DecisionFCA decides to fine Carlos Ricardo Fuenmayor £99,600 for disclosure failures11 June 2026
- DecisionFCA fines and bans Frank Breuer for serious misconduct in pension transfer adviceThe FCA has banned Frank Breuer from working in UK financial services and fined him £755,000 for repeatedly acting without integrity and putting customers at risk for personal financial gain. Mr Breuer was the joint owner and sole director of Bluesky Wealth Management Limited (Bluesky), which provided advice on investments and pensions. Although authorised to advise on defined benefit (DB) pension transfers, the firm did not have the appropriate professional insurance in place from April 2019. This meant Mr Breuer’s customers were at risk of not receiving compensation if something went wrong.Mr Breuer carried out at least 16 DB pension transfers while knowing he was uninsured. He also repeatedly misled the FCA about the firm’s insurance position.In October 2019, Mr Breuer agreed to restrictions introduced by the FCA to protect customers and the firm’s assets. Mr Breuer ignored these restrictions and stripped the firm’s assets by paying himself large dividends,...Consumer CreditInvestmentInsurance12 May 2026
- DecisionFCA takes next steps toward enforcement action against Hartley Pensions and an individualThe FCA has set out plans to take action against Hartley Pensions Limited and an individual involved at the firm. Hartley was a Self-Invested Personal Pension operator, which went into administration in July 2022. The FCA alleges that Hartley provided it with false and misleading information and improperly withdrew and invested substantial amounts of customers’ pension funds, without their consent, to benefit an individual at the firm.The FCA alleges that the individual dishonestly used the pension funds and made false representations to obtain money for a company that they owned. They then misled the FCA to conceal this misconduct.The issued Warning Notices are not the FCA's final decisions and there is a right to make representations to the Regulatory Decisions Committee. In the event that the FCA makes final decisions, it intends to make its findings public at the appropriate point, but it cannot provide any further detail beyond the...Consumer Credit15 April 2026
- DecisionFCA fines Dinosaur Merchant Bank Limited for market abuse surveillance failuresThe FCA has fined Dinosaur Merchant Bank Limited (DMBL) £338,000 for failing to put in place effective systems and controls to detect and report suspicious trading in its contracts for difference (CFD) business. CFDs are sophisticated financial products that are used to speculate on various assets going up or down in value. Given their high-risk nature, firms must have strong and reliable surveillance arrangements to prevent insider dealing and market manipulation.In June 2024, DMBL introduced a new order system that led to a sharp increase in CFD trading by its clients. Between June and October 2024, trades with a corresponding asset value of approximately $3.05 billion were executed via the platform. However, these orders and trades were not captured and reviewed by the automated surveillance system which meant that potential market abuse could have gone undetected.Although DMBL identified this issue in October 2024, the firm failed to properly address the...InvestmentBanking27 March 2026
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- DecisionFCA fines John Wood Group PLC for issuing misleading statementsJohn Wood Group PLC (Wood Group) has been fined £12,993,700 for publishing inaccurate information in its financial results. Following the poor performance of certain projects, Wood Group’s accounting judgements were inappropriately influenced by its desire to maintain previously stated financial results. Wood Group did not have adequate systems, controls or procedures to prevent this from happening.This resulted in Wood Group publishing inaccurate information in its full-year 2022 and 2023 financial results and the half-year 2024 results. The company failed to take reasonable care to ensure that its announcements about those results were not false or misleading.These issues came to light from November 2024 onwards. Wood Group’s share price fell by 78% by April 2025 and its shares were suspended in May 2025.Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said:'Investors rely on accurate information to make decisions. Wood Group failed to provide this and fell well short of the...Consumer CreditCorporate Finance4 March 2026
- DecisionInfluencers fined for issuing unauthorised financial promotionsSeven social media influencers have been sentenced at Southwark Crown Court for their role in the promotion of an unauthorised foreign exchange trading scheme. Biggs Chris, Jamie Clayton, Lauren Goodger, Rebecca Gormley, Yazmin Oukhellou, Scott Timlin and Eva Zapico all pleaded guilty to one count of issuing unauthorised financial promotions.The outcomes were:Lauren Goodger was fined £3,750 and ordered to pay costs of £5,778.18.Biggs Chris was fined £600 and ordered to pay costs of £1,000.Jamie Clayton was fined £820 and ordered to pay costs of £1,000.Rebecca Gormley was given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of £2,866.42.Yazmin Oukhellou was fined £974 and ordered to pay costs of £1,000. Scott Timlin was fined £938 and ordered to pay costs of £1,000.Eva Zapico was given an absolute discharge and ordered to pay costs of £1,770.44. Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said:'These influencers betrayed the...20 February 2026
- DecisionTribunal upholds bans and fines for reckless adviser and fund managerThe Upper Tribunal has upheld the FCA's decisions to ban Stephen Joseph Burdett and James Paul Goodchild from working in financial services. Mr Burdett and Mr Goodchild previously held senior roles at Synergy Wealth Limited (Synergy) and Westbury Private Clients LLP (Westbury), respectively.The FCA banned the pair from working in regulated financial services for recklessly exposing pension holders to unsuitable investments.The Tribunal also found that it was appropriate for the FCA to impose penalties of £265,071 on Mr Burdett and £47,600 on Mr Goodchild.Because of Mr Burdett, 232 personal pension funds worth over £10 million were switched into high-risk investment portfolios that were obviously unsuitable. The portfolios were created and managed by Mr Goodchild at Westbury, with around 38% of overall holdings linked to a single offshore property developer.Despite his knowledge that the portfolios were high-risk, Mr Burdett allowed Synergy’s customers to receive reports indicating that their money would be...Consumer CreditBanking18 February 2026
- DecisionFCA fines former chief executive of Carillion plc (in liquidation)The FCA has fined Richard Howson £237,700 for his part in misleading statements being issued by Carillion plc. As group chief executive, Mr Howson was aware of serious financial troubles in Carillion’s UK construction business. He failed to reflect this in company announcements or alert its board and audit committee, leading to poor oversight.The fine was imposed after Mr Howson withdrew his challenge to the FCA’s decision.Mr Howson was one of two executive directors on Carillion’s Board. His responsibilities included working closely with the group finance director (the other executive director on the board) to ensure Carillion communicated effectively with investors and had appropriate internal control processes. Primary responsibility for ensuring the financial information disseminated to the market was accurate and not misleading lay with the group finance director. However, Mr Howson played an important role as the Board member with the most expertise on construction and contracting matters.The FCA...PaymentsConsumer CreditInvestment16 February 2026
- DecisionFCA fines two individuals a combined £108,731 for insider dealingThe FCA has fined Dipesh Kerai and Bhavesh Hirani for insider dealing in shares of Bidstack Group Plc. Mr Kerai has been fined £52,731, and Mr Hirani has been fined £56,000.In December 2021, Mr Hirani was the interim Chief Financial Officer at Bidstack, a company that placed advertising inside video games. This meant he had access to inside information about a major upcoming deal between Bidstack and a large video game publisher.Before it was announced to the public, Mr Hirani passed this confidential information to Mr Kerai. Mr Hirani then opened a trading account in Mr Kerai’s name and, with his help, bought 1.3 million Bidstack shares in advance of the announcement while in possession of inside information.When the deal was made public, Bidstack’s share price rose by more than 125%. Mr Kerai made more than £9,000 in profit, which the FCA has now required him to return as part...Investment10 February 2026
- DecisionEnforcement Watch 1Newsletter covering insights and themes from our enforcement work. ... About this editionOn 3 June 2025, we published our updated Enforcement Guide (ENFG). In this, we amended our publicity policy to achieve greater transparency. In the first edition of Enforcement Watch, we cover our: Updated publicity policy in action. Enforcement case priorities. International partnerships.28 January 2026
- DecisionTribunal upholds ban and fines for corrupt and dishonest adviserThe FCA's decision to ban Darren Antony Reynolds from working in financial services and fine him £2,037,892 has been upheld by the Upper Tribunal. The FCA's decision to ban Darren Antony Reynolds from working in financial services and fine him £2,037,892 has been upheld by the Upper Tribunal.Mr Reynolds was dishonest when he gave pension transfer advice and investment recommendations to his customers, causing them significant harm.Mr Reynolds showed a clear disregard for his customers’ interests. He encouraged British Steel Pension Scheme members to transfer out of their defined benefit pension scheme, despite knowing that the advice was wholly unsuitable. He also advised his customers to invest in high-risk and unsuitable products while at the same time hiding high exit fees and falsifying documents.Mr Reynolds’ misconduct exposed hundreds of people to serious financial loss. Over £17.6m has been paid in compensation to more than 470 affected customers, many of whom...Banking19 January 2026
- DecisionFCA fines oil rig consultant £309,843 for insider dealingThe FCA has fined Russel Gerrity £309,843 for using inside information to net himself £128,765. As a consultant, Mr Gerrity had access to information about whether oil and gas had been discovered during the drilling of wells. Between October 2018 and January 2022, he took advantage of this and used inside information to buy shares in Chariot Oil & Gas Limited and Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas Plc ahead of announcements that increased their price. On another occasion, he used inside information to avoid a loss. He sold shares that he already owned ahead of an announcement that no oil or gas had been found, which then resulted in a price fall. The FCA was initially notified of some of Mr Gerrity’s trading through Suspicious Transaction and Order Reports (STORs) submitted by a firm, showing the vital role of industry in uncovering market abuse. During its subsequent investigation, the FCA’s...Investment16 January 2026
- Decision2026 finesThis page contains information about fines published during 2026. The total amount of fines so far is £371,700. Firm or individual finedDateAmountReasonRichard Adam07/01/2026£232,800The Final Notice refers to knowing concern in breaches of Article 15 of the Market Abuse Regulations, Listing Rule 1.3.3R, Listing Principle 1 and Premium Listing Principle 2.Zafar Khan07/01/2026£138,900The Final Notice refers to knowing concern in breaches of Article 15 of the Market Abuse Regulations, Listing Rule 1.3.3R, Listing Principle 1 and Premium Listing Principle 2.PaymentsConsumer CreditInvestment8 January 2026
- DecisionFCA fines former finance directors of Carillion plc (in liquidation)The FCA has fined 2 former finance directors for their part in misleading statements being issued by Carillion plc. Richard Adam and Zafar Khan were both aware of serious financial troubles in Carillion’s UK construction business but failed to reflect this in company announcements or alert the Board and audit committee, leading to poor oversight.Mr Adam and Mr Khan have been fined £232,800 and £138,900, respectively. The fines were imposed after Mr Adam and Mr Khan withdrew their challenges to the FCA’s decision.As finance directors, the pair had responsibility for Carillion’s procedures, systems and controls relating to financial reporting. These were not sufficient to ensure that contract accounting judgments made in its UK construction business were made, recorded and reported appropriately.The FCA found both acted recklessly and were knowingly concerned in breaches by Carillion of the Market Abuse Regulation and the Listing Rules.Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and...PaymentsConsumer CreditInvestment7 January 2026
- DecisionIndividual convicted and fined for data protection breachTaunton-based Luke Coleman, aged 30, has pleaded guilty to unlawfully obtaining and the subsequent disclosure of personal data in breach of the Data Protection Act, following a prosecution by the FCA. Coleman, who was employed by Virgin Media O2, sold confidential customer data to family friend Nicholas Harper for use in a boiler room fraud.Raymondip Bedi and Patrick Mavanga were subsequently sentenced to a combined 12 years of imprisonment for their role in a crypto scam which defrauded at least 65 investors out of £1,541,799.Harper had earlier pleaded guilty to assisting an offence to be committed in breach of the Data Protection Act but was subsequently acquitted of conspiracy to defraud by a jury.Coleman was suspended by his employer, pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.A fine is the maximum penalty for this type of offence. Coleman was fined £384. He was ordered to pay a £38 surcharge and prosecution...29 October 2025
- DecisionFCA bans and fines advisor £100,281 for insider dealingThe FCA has fined Neil Sedgwick Dwane £100,281 for insider dealing and banned him from working for UK financial services. In 2022, Mr Dwane worked as an advisor for ITM Power Plc (ITM). Because of his role, Mr Dwane knew the details of an announcement ITM planned to make to the market on 27 October. Following that announcement, ITM’s share price fell by around 37%.The day before the announcement, Mr Dwane used the inside information and sold his own and a family member’s 125,000 shares worth £124,287. He took advantage of the subsequent fall in ITM’s share price to purchase 180,000 shares worth £140,700, gaining £26,575 from the price difference.Mr Dwane is an experienced financial professional and knew his conduct amounted to insider dealing, abusing his position of trust.Mr Dwane was required to obtain ITM’s permission before dealing in its shares, but he failed to do so.Steve Smart, executive director...Investment23 October 2025