Posts by Ethan Parker

The FCA’s Updated Approach To Market Abuse

  Market abuse is a constant threat to the integrity and stability of global markets, hindered at times by the rapidly evolving landscape of financial regulation. Investors need to be confident and have trust in financial markets, which stems from them being free from abuse. Recently, headlines have centred around financial news and regulators are…

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Regulatory Updates November 2024

In this issue we cover: Barclays Penalised for Fundraising Transparency Failures Parliamentary Feedback on the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Performance FCA Fines MBL £10 Million for Serious Control Failures FCA Penalises Former Airline Executive for Trading Violations and Disclosure Breaches CP24/24: The MiFID Organisational Regulation FCA Statement on the Chancellor’s Mansion House Speech DP24/2: Improving…

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Review of FCA Final Notice on Metro Bank plc

  On 12th of November 2024 the FCA imposed a £16.7 million fine on Metro Bank Plc for serious shortcomings in its anti-money laundering (AML) controls between June 2016 and December 2020. According to the final notice, Metro Bank’s Automated Transaction Monitoring System (ATMS) failed to effectively monitor over 60 million transactions, amounting to £51 billion. The…

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Regulatory Updates October 2024

In this issue we cover: CrowdStrike outage: Operational resilience failings Non-financial Misconduct Not Going Unpunished Crackdown On Illegal Finfluencers Market Watch 80 Improved Value for Consumers in Cash Savings Rates   CrowdStrike outage: Operational resilience failings The FCA is strongly encouraging firms to learn from past failings through increasing third-party-related operational incidents, such as the…

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Review of FCA Final Notice on TSB Bank plc

On the 9th of October 2024 the FCA published its final notice against TSB Bank plc, which resulted in a £10.91 million penalty over its treatment of customers in financial difficulty. The fine serves as a crucial indicator of the pressing need for enhanced compliance when it comes to customer care within the banking industry.…

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Operational Resilience

The FCA’s policy statement PS21/3 “Building operational resilience” (the Policy), is a focal point for the UK financial sector on managing operational resilience. The Policy sets out the key areas for firms to focus on; prevention, adaption, responsiveness to, recovery and learning from disruptions. This Policy builds on consultation paper CP19/32 ” Building operational resilience:…

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A Call for Enhanced Controls

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is intensifying its scrutiny on firms falling short in their compliance efforts. In a recent example Starling Bank Ltd. was fined £28.9 million on 2nd October 2024 for inadequate anti-money laundering and sanctions controls. This penalty serves as a that financial crime compliance must keep pace with business growth.  The…

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Simplifying the Consumer Duty

With a month remaining to respond to the FCA’s Call for Input on the “review of FCA requirements following the introduction of the Consumer Duty” (the Duty) there is a significant opportunity to gain insight and input for financial market participants, especially those operating in retail markets. This consultation comes at a crucial time following…

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