Last week the FCA published for consultation a paper describing its approach to enforcement. It has invited feedback on the paper by 21 June 2018.

The paper summarises how the FCA conducts investigations and its enforcement powers.

There is very little that will be new in the paper for most in the industry, although it is noteworthy that the FCA expressly acknowledges in passing that penalties and sanctions alone are not enough to prevent misconduct and that the regulator will increase the likelihood of detection in tandem with more efficient investigations

Perhaps the most important aspect of the paper is the FCA’s announcement of ongoing work and future consultation.   The FCA says that it has (a) started a review of its Penalties Policy and plans to publish a consultation paper later this year; and (b) begun work on a fuller review of its Enforcement Guide and aims to consult on this in 2019.

So a case of watch this space for more important news from the FCA.