FCA publishes 2021 promotions and unregulated firms reports data
February 2022
FCA publishes 2021 financial promotions and unregulated firms reports data
The FCA has published a page on its website which analyses the latest data, from January 2021 to 31 December 2021, resulting from action taken against authorised firms breaching financial promotion rules and referrals and investigations into unregulated activity. Publishing this data allows the FCA to outline the results of its financial promotions interventions work and to monitor movements in the market.
- In relation to authorised firms, last year saw an increase in some 300 amendments to or withdrawals of promotions, compared to around the same number of cases as 2020.
- General insurance and protection represented just 4% of those amendments or withdrawals.
- In relation to illegal financial promotions by unauthorised persons, last year saw an overall increase of 10% of total reports received compared with 2020.
- The FCA has seen a significant reduction in non-compliant paid for advertisements by unauthorised entities on Google since its engagement and the implementation of their new financial services ad policy.
- In 2021 1,686financial promotions were reviewed.
- In 2021, 34,244reports were received about potential unauthorised business.
- The number of alerts issued about unauthorised firms and individuals totalled 1,410, an increase of 18% from 2020. Just under 30% of these alerts related to clone scams. Many of these involved breaches of the financial promotion restriction online.
- Firms can report a financial advert or promotionthat they think is misleading, unfair or unclear, or can report a scam, authorised firm or individual to the FCA.
For more information read here.
Back to news...