Information recently received from the FCA under a Freedom of Information Act request in relation to investigations into Senior Managers paints a picture consistent with the regulator's message that it is working to reduce its Enforcement caseload through 'increased pace and increased focus'.
In September, Therese Chambers, Joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight spoke of the FCA "streamlining our caseload and focusing on investigations better aligned to our strategic priorities."
The data we've obtained shows that, between January and October 2024, the FCA has opened only 1 enforcement case in relation to a Senior Manager for alleged breaches under the Senior Manager & Certification Regime – a significant downturn from the 11 opened in 2023 and the 12 in 2022.
In the same period, the number of cases the FCA has closed has gone up – with 16 Senior Manager cases closed so far in 2024, compared to 10 during 2023 and 6 during 2022.
To put that in context, there are currently 23 such open cases in relation to Senior Managers, a small proportion of the FCA's 336 investigations into individuals open at end March 2024.
You may well be wondering why we aren't seeing the outcomes of those closed cases. The answer is also in the stats – since 2022, the FCA has only taken action in relation to 2 cases relating to Senior Managers. No less than 28 cases were closed without enforcement action.
Challenged at a hearing before the House of Lords Financial Services Regulation Committee last week about their track record, the FCA's Chair, Ashley Alder, acknowledged that historically, the "triaging process was not as firm as it should be" and that Enforcement had "tak[en] and investigat[ed] pretty much every case that comes in the door". However, with 93% of cases in relation to Senior Managers closing without action, there is clearly some way to go to meet the objective stipulated by the FCA's CEO, Nikhil Rathi, at the same Committee hearing last week, namely that only one third of cases opened should result in no action.
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