FCA orders amendment or withdrawal of 105 financial promotions in Q1 2021
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today posted its financial promotions data for Q1 2021. This data shows the number of financial promotions that have been amended or withdrawn due to non-compliance with FCA rules.
The regulator explains that it undertakes many reviews of firms’ financial promotions, which are identified through multiple sources including both consumer and firm referrals. The FCA looks at every financial advert reported to it.
Where the FCA concludes that an advert is in breach of its rules, it asks the firm which has communicated or approved it to withdraw the advert, or change it so that it complies with the FCA requirements. The regulator may also ask firms to consider whether any customers may have acted on the basis of non-compliant promotions and to take appropriate action to remedy any harm which consumers may have suffered as a result.
In Q1 of 2021, the FCA reviewed 441 financial promotions, which includes promotions identified through both complaints the FCA has received and the proactive work it performs to ensure promotions meet the requirements of its rules, including that they are fair, clear and not misleading.
- 45% of reports came from consumers
- 27% of reports came from internal areas of the FCA
- 15% of reports came from UK regulators
- 13% of reports came from other sources
During this time 38 cases resulted in 105 promotions being amended or withdrawn through FCA’s interaction with authorised firms.
The chart below shows how the cases in Q1 2021 which have resulted in a promotion being amended/withdrawn are spread across a number of sectors.
The regulator notes that 75% of the amend/withdraw outcomes related to either website or social media promotions.