We have published the findings of our thematic review of retirement income advice which examined how firms were providing advice.

We also wrote to CEOs of firms giving financial advice asking them to review their processes when providing retirement income advice.

The review identified examples of good practice in the market. Some firms had developed detailed processes, specific training for advisers on decumulation advice, and were using a range of tools to help consumers understand the information provided. Advice models were also tailored to meet customer needs.

However, we also found some examples of firms not meeting their customers’ needs. This included where firms did not show they had considered income sustainability. There were also instances of firms not providing the necessary information to customers. Most of the advice files we reviewed showed advice was suitable.

In a small number of instances recommendations resulted in consumers losing guarantees or incurring unnecessary charges.

We recognise the industry has been preparing for the Consumer Duty. To help firms we have published the Retirement Income Advice Assessment Tool (RIAAT) and instructions. This tool shows how we assessed advice files and shows how firms can assess if their advice is compliant with our rules, including the Duty. Please email us with any queries in relation to the tool.

We have also published a Cash Flow Modelling article which will help firms when undertaking modelling.

Firms must now consider the findings of our review and take appropriate steps to meet our standards for Retirement Income Advice.

The guidance sets out how adverts across social media channels must be fair, clear and not misleading, meaning they must have balance and carry the right risk warnings so people can make well informed financial decisions.

Financial firms are responsible for all their promotions, even if they’re working with others like influencers and need to ensure influencers they do work with, communicate to their followers in the right way.

Access the final guidance and feedback statement.

Exchanges will need to continue to make sure sufficient controls are in place, so trading is orderly and proper protection is afforded to professional investors. cETNs must meet all the requirements of the UK Listing Regime, for example on prospectuses and on-going disclosure.

With increased insight and data due to a longer period of trading history, we believe exchanges and professional investors should now be able to better establish whether cETNs meet their risk appetite.

We continue to believe cETNs and crypto derivatives are ill-suited for retail consumers due to the harm they pose. As a result, the ban on the sale of cETNs (and crypto derivatives) to retail consumers remains in place.

We are collaborating with government, international partners and industry to develop the UK’s cryptoasset regulatory regime and lead international standards in this space. 

We are warning firms about common failings we’ve found in firms’ financial crime controls.

We’ve written to CEOs of Annex 1 firms setting out findings from our recent assessments of how firms are complying with money laundering regulations.

Annex 1 businesses, which include some lenders, safe custody providers, money brokers and financial leasing companies, undertake specified activities which mean they must be registered and supervised by us for their compliance with the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLRs).

Once your firm is given access to the improved Form A, the improved version will be the only version available for new applications. Outstanding drafts that have been created can still be submitted using the old version.

The key changes to requirements and FAQs are on our webpage.

The next form to be updated is the one for Sensitive Business Names, which will be available for testing by Authorised firms shortly.

Under the Consumer Duty, firms should make sure consumers are at the heart of their business and act to deliver good outcomes for them. Motor insurers should review our findings and make any changes necessary to ensure their own processes meet regulatory expectations.

Under the Consumer Duty, firms should act to deliver good outcomes for all customers, including those with characteristics of vulnerability. Our review will look at firms’ understanding of consumer needs, the skills and capability of staff, product and service design, communications and customer service, and whether these support the fair treatment of customers in vulnerable circumstances. This is in line with our 2021 commitment.

We will share our findings by the end of 2024.

Through collective expertise of the SDEG, a sub-group of the Innovation Advisory Group, the report uses industry use cases to give insights into the opportunities and challenges that can arise from using synthetic data in financial services. The use cases in the paper explore applications of synthetic data to enhance fraud detection models, reject inference in credit scoring, synthetic open banking modelling and anti-money laundering controls.

The tool, which will sit alongside CBEST in our supervisory toolkit, mimics a cyber-attack on an organisation’s important business services and the technology and people supporting those services. It enables regulators and firms to better understand vulnerabilities and take remedial action, improving the resilience of individual firms and the wider financial system.

Access the Star-FS implementation guide and supporting templates.

Users will be redirected to the new login page but the way you log in will not change.

Once you’ve authenticated using your multi-factor authentication one-time passcode for Connect, RegData or Online Invoicing, you won’t need to re-authenticate while you remain logged in to these systems.

This consultation supplements and revises the proposals in CP22/25: Proposed regulatory framework for pensions dashboard service firms.

This work supports the Government’s pension dashboards initiative which gives savers digital access to information about their pension in one place, helping them to make better pension decisions.

Firms that wish to operate a pension dashboard service will need to be authorised by us and obtain the relevant permission.

Interested stakeholders are invited to feed back on the proposals by 8 May.

It contains tranche 2 alongside the original tranche 1 drafting to form a complete draft instrument for the new UK Listing Rules (UKLRs).

We plan to notify issuers from mid-May of the category we expect their securities to be mapped to if we proceeded with our proposals. We aim to make final rules in June or July, subject to responses to our consultation and the FCA Board’s final approval.

The group is focused on building capacity in sustainable finance across the financial advice sector. The group plan to report in the second half of 2024 on how the advice sector can be supported in delivering good practice.

Further information can be found on the group’s website.

The table contained under DISP 3.7.4 has been updated to show the maximum awards the Ombudsman may make. The next adjustment will be considered after the CPI figures for January 2025 have been released.

We have more information about: 

• what we consider when assessing an application for cancellation of authorisation 
• payment of outstanding fees

All firms supervised by both the FCA and the PRA need to do this within 60 business days of your Accounting Reference Date (ARD). If you are a dual regulated principal firm, you must also confirm the details of your Appointed Representatives.

If you fail to report you will incur a late return notification, £250 late return fee, and possible enforcement action.

This follows a review of cases where the AIFM is principal firm and the seconded person is from one of its appointed representatives (ARs).

The review found:

• a lack of oversight of seconded staff 
• insufficient involvement in investor due diligence 
• inadequacies in capital adequacy calculations

See our findings and guidance for firms operating the AIFM host model.

Together with Ofgem, Ofwat and Ofcom, we've set out our expectations across markets, urging firms to:

• make sure customers in debt do not receive excessive communication 
• use supportive language 
• clearly signpost free debt advice 
• make it easy for debt advisers to contact them on behalf of clients 

The expectations are based on the comprehensive rules and guidance already in place in financial services. The Consumer Duty has set a higher standard of consumer protection, building on guidance for how firms should support vulnerable customers and borrowers in financial difficulty.

We also banned Arthur Cobill, an adviser at the firm, and William Hofstetter, one of the firm’s directors, from advising customers on pension transfers and pension opt outs.

In the relevant period, IFM poorly advised people to transfer out of defined benefit pension schemes, including the British Steel Pension Scheme.

Our news and publications alerts keep you up to date with our press releases, speeches, statements, consultations, guidance, notices and decisions.

The latest data shows the number of new whistleblowing reports we received between October and December 2023 and how the information was received. The Whistleblowing team receives reports by telephone, email, its online reporting form, and post. In 2023 Q4, we received 249 new whistleblowing reports, containing 649 allegations in total.

We assess every whistleblowing case we receive that falls within our remit, to inform our work and help us identify actual or potential harm. This could be harm to consumers, to markets, to the UK economy or to wider society.

The Government’s Mortgage Charter, introduced in June 2023, contains commitments, over and above FCA requirements, made by mortgage lenders. There are 48 signatories, representing around 90% of the mortgage market.

The data we publish includes:

• the outstanding value of all residential loans
• total gross advances by loan-to-value and income multiples
• value of new commitments
• proportion of mortgage loans above Bank Rate

The value of gross mortgage advances decreased by 13.4% from the previous quarter to £54.0 billion and was 33.8% lower than a year earlier.

In addition to project showcases, the Expo will facilitate insightful panel discussions and networking opportunities with industry leaders, innovators, incubators, members of the FCA team, academics, and stakeholders from the wider fintech ecosystem.

Please reserve your spot by registering.

We are hosting a webinar for principal firms and professional advisers about the Appointed Representatives regime on Wednesday 24 April.

The event is designed to help reinforce your understanding of your ongoing obligations and to give you the chance to ask us any questions. You will be able to hear some of the findings of our current work and the good and poor practice we have seen.

To join us please register using this form, which will also allow you to submit questions in advance.