FCA says it wants the UK to become ‘hostile environment’ for fraudsters at PIMFA’s Financial Crime Conference

18 May 2023

FCA says it wants the UK to become ‘hostile environment’ for fraudsters at PIMFA’s Financial Crime Conference

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in a collaboration with industry, plans to make greater strives in ensuring the UK is a hostile environment for fraudsters, delegates at PIMFA’s Financial Crime Conference were told today (18 May 2023).

Opening the conference Nick Hulme, Head of Department (Advisers, Wealth and Pensions) at the FCA, said prevention of financial crime was one of regulators most important commitments.

“We want to make the UK a hostile environment to financial criminals,” he said, as he revealed that 40% of all crime reported in the UK was fraud.

He welcomed the announcement of the Government’s new National Fraud Strategy and said the FCA’s own three-year strategy ‘Prevent, Protect and Pursue’ was benefitting from additional resources and focus.

The FCA, he said, was developing a single view of all threats and investing in new resources and more staff to investigate financial crime. He said the renewed focus on fraud was already yielding results with 18,000 misleading financial promotions having been blocked or removed by the FCA in the past year.

Mr Hulme said the FCA was planning to do more in the coming years however with a new dedicated function within the regulator designed to proactively identify fraud and money laundering in the industry.

He cautioned delegates saying that firms needed to take proactive action too, telling delegates fraud was such a big problem in the UK that it requires a collective effort. “We can’t do it alone, we need the industry,” he said.

The FCA reiterated its calls to firms to be vigilant and come forward, and utilise both its whistleblowing and standard reporting procedures. The regulator reminded firms that it expects firms needed to be on high alert to risks, ensure they had robust system and controls and that should be re-doubling their efforts to ensure staff were fully competent and trained, he said.

“Review your defences and systems and controls and take the appropriate action to remedy or update your firms approach. Never be static. Investment in prevention is absolutely worth it. Being on the other end is not a place you ever want to be,” he added.

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Notes for Editors

About PIMFA – the Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association

• PIMFA is the trade association for firms that provide wealth management, investment services and the investment and financial advice to everyone from individuals and families to charities, pension funds, trusts and companies.
• The sector currently looks after £1.65 trillion in private savings and investments and employs over 63,000 people.
• PIMFA represents both full and associate member firms. Full members provide a range of financial solutions including financial advice, portfolio management, as well as investment and execution services. They assist everyone from individuals and families to charities and pension funds, all the way to trusts and companies.  Associate members provide professional services to the PIMFA community.
• PIMFA leads the debate on policy and regulatory recommendations to ensure that the UK remains a global centre of excellence in the wealth management, investment advice and financial planning arena. Our mission is to create an optimal operating environment so that its member firms can focus on delivering the best service to clients, providing responsible stewardship for their long-term savings and investments. 
• PIMFA has made numerous recommendations to the FCA regarding the Future of Advice, Future of Supervision and the FSCS levy – read more.
• PIMFA was created in 2017 as the outcome of a merger between the Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA) and the Wealth Management Association (WMA) with a history as a trade association since 1991 – read more.
• Further information can be found at pimfa.co.uk

Contact

For further information on this release or other press matters please contact:

Matthew West, PIMFA PR Manager – MatthewW@pimfa.co.uk, +44 (0)20 7382 0376

Sheena Gillett, PIMFA Communications & PR Director – sheenag@pimfa.co.uk, +44 (0)20 7011 9869 / +44 (0)7979 493225