The Financial Conduct Authority has published its first quarterly data for non-compliant financial promotions, as part of a drive for greater transparency on financial promotions.
In the first quarter of 2021, the FCA reviewed 411 financial promotions which were identified by a combination of external complaints and its own reviews.
Some 38 cases resulted in a total of 105 promotions being amended or withdrawn.
Three quarters of the 105 promotions that were amended or withdrawn related to either website or social media promotions.
Retail investments constituted 26% of the 105 promotions found to be non-compliant.
Retail lending (47%) was the area with the most non-compliant promotions with retail banking (18%) also seeing several upheld complaints. The areas with the smallest numbers of non-compliant financial regulations in the first quarter of 2021 were pensions and retirement income (5%) and general insurance and protection (3%).
Just under half (45%) of financial promotions reported came from consumers. Just over a quarter (27%) of reviews were kickstarted by internal reports at the FCA and 15% from other UK regulators.
These case figures do not relate to unauthorised firms that have not had their promotions approved.
There is currently pressure from MPs and trade bodies for the FCA to tighten the rules on the promotion of unregulated financial promotions by making the approval of all financial promotions a regulated activity.
Wealth management and financial advice trade body PIMFA has raised concerns about the issue. It said that by making the approval of financial promotions a regulated activity, the Government would empower the regulator and enable it to take enforcement action on firms that approved unsuitable investments without the necessary expertise or due diligence.
Consumers and industry members are encouraged by the regulator to report any financial promotion which is not compliant.
If the regulator finds a regulated financial promotion is misleading it can ask the firm to change or remove the advert, ask the firm to write to customers who may have been misled, warn or fine the firm, and/or ban the promotion.
The FCA has been cracking down on regulated financial promotions since sending a ‘Dear CEO’ letter to regulated firms to remind senior managers and boards what constitutes “fair, clear and unambiguous” financial promotions.
The 2019 warning came after the regulator discovered firms were issuing financial promotions which suggested or implied that all of the activities which they undertake were regulated when that was not the case.