The quiet evolution of FCA enforcement

After a scolding from Andrew Green QC in his report regarding the regulator’s handling of the HBOS failure, as well as an HM Treasury review, enforcement by the Financial Conduct Authority has undergone significant evolution over the past two to three years. Guy Wilkes examines recent changes, including the FCA’s focus on individuals, along with alterations to internal process and the settlement procedure.

Guy Wilkes, a former FCA enforcement head of department, is now a financial services regulatory and enforcement partner at law firm Mayer Brown. Contact him on gwilkes@mayerbrown.com.

FCA’s focus on individuals

Following the banking crisis in 2008 and multiple conduct failures in banks and other financial institutions, the size and number of fines imposed upon firms by the FCA and its predecessor the Financial Services Authority have increased exponentially. However, the FCA has faced criticism that guilty individuals working in United Kingdom firms have largely emerged unscathed. In his report into the regulatory response to the HBOS failure, Andrew Green QC even quotes former FCA director Clive Adamson as accepting that, “the most culpable were let off”.