Double jeopardy: FCA Enforcement actions
Published 18 December 2024
Introduction
The FCA recently fined Barclays £40 million for its failure to disclose certain arrangements with Qatari entities in 2008. Sixteen years is a long time, and as the FCA itself acknowledged when announcing the fine, “we recognise that Barclays is a very different organisation today.” Investigations take time, but the reputational ‘double hit’ is a reminder to firms of why it’s important to avoid an investigation by the regulator in the first place.
Recent Pathlight analysis shows that since 2020, the average elapsed time between when an FCA investigation starts and a final notice is given, is just under five years. This means that even when firms have undergone a review and remediated the original gaps, their reputation and commercials could be impacted a second time when the regulator publishes its final notice, particularly if the fine is as eye-catching and media attention-grabbing as Barclays’.
These cases highlight the importance of getting things right when it comes to compliance, to put in place sufficient controls, and to not assume ‘it will never happen to me’. So, what is our advice to firms to avoid this ‘double jeopardy’?
