Having conducted a review of 10 financial promotion approvers working on behalf of unauthorised firms the FCA has concluded that some need to up their game to ensure that they are adequately protecting consumers from harmful or misleading promotions.
Specifically, the FCA found that a subset of firms had approved promotions with misleading or unsubstantiated claims and others had allowed the release of promotions intended only for professional investors to retail customers. In some cases, these issues had arisen from firms relying on templates prepared by third parties rather than conducting a proper review themselves. These findings have already led the FCA require a firm to conduct a remediation exercise and order that some websites be blocked to retail customers.
At the other end of the scale, the FCA did note with approval that the strongest firms were applying the Consumer Duty from the start of their processes and as a consequence were able to make sure that every promotion approved was accurate, clear and reached the right audience.
The FCA intends to continue to monitor compliance in this area and take action where it identifies failings.
Duncan Scott
Duncan is a Principal Associate in the Funds and Financial Services team specialising in financial services regulation. Duncan advises clients across a wide range of sectors including banking, consumer finance, payment services, insurance, asset management and pensions with a particular focus on retail banking, regulated credit and payment services.