The FCA has fined Chase de Vere Independent Financial Advisers Limited (Chase de Vere) £560,000 (including a 30 per cent settlement discount) for misselling Keydata products. Between 2005 and 2009, Chase de Vere’s advisers sold Keydata life settlement products to 2,806 customers who collectively invested £49.3 million. The FCA found that 139 customers invested a […]

Sesame, the UK’s largest network of financial advisers, has been fined £1.6m by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for setting up a pay-to-play scheme that “undermined the ban on commission payments brought in by the Retail Distribution Review (RDR)”. The pay-to-play scheme meant the range of products recommended to Sesame clients under its restricted advice […]

The FCA has fined Stonebridge International Insurance Limited (Stonebridge) £8,373,600 (including a 30 per cent discount) for failing to have appropriate systems and controls over its sales and cancellation processes and failing to take reasonable steps to ensure that its customers were treated fairly. Stonebridge, a general insurance firm, breached Principles 3 and 6 of […]

Kinetic Partners, the global professional services firm, has today released research showing that in 2013*, market abuse was a key priority for FCA enforcement. In 2013*, the FCA fined firms and individuals a total of £346,373,924 for market abuse related breaches. Kinetic Partners’ research also found that market abuse was the second most cited offense among […]

The FCA yesterday fined both Credit Suisse International (CSI) and Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) in respect of their financial promotions for a structured deposit called the “Cliquet Product”. The Cliquet Product is a capital protected four, five or six year structured deposit product which guarantees a minimum return. In addition, if the sum of the […]

The Upper Tribunal (Tribunal) has upheld the decision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to fine Scottish firm Westwood Independent Financial Planners (Westwood) £100,000 for communications and suitability failings in relation to geared traded endowment policies (GTEPs). The judgment was issued by the Tribunal on 22 November 2013 after 9 days of hearing in April […]

The number of fines issued to senior bankers by the financial regulator has dropped 40% since 2010. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued 18 fines to finance professionals categorised as performing a so-called significant influence function in 2013, marking a drop from the 30 fines handed out in 2010, law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) […]

The FCA has fined Santander UK Plc (Santander) £12.4 million (including a 30 per cent discount) for failings related to financial advice. The FCA found that Santander breached Principles 7 and 9 of the FCA’s Principles for Businesses for failing to ensure that customers received suitable advice, that certain investments were reviewed to ensure that […]