The Financial Conduct Authority is planning to publicly name the companies it is investigating in a bid to deter firms from breaking the rules and encourage whistleblowers to come forward, according to reports.
In a consultation paper set to be published today, the FCA is reportedly planning to set out a new approach to “public interest” that will name firms under investigation to strengthen deterrence and encourage witnesses and whistleblowers to come forward, the Financial Times reported.
“More transparency around our enforcement work at an earlier stage is going to enable firms to start putting their houses in order where they need to at an earlier date than they’re currently able,” Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, told the Financial Times.
The move marks a shake-up under the tenure of Therese Chambers who has looked to beef up the regulator’s enforcement action since starting in the role last year.
The FCA has faced a slide in action in recent years with just eight fines issued last year, the lowest in the FCA’s decade long history, the FT reported.
Some 65 per cent of the watchdog’s investigations currently close without action, the FCA’s co-head of enforcement Steve Smart has said, who joined the regulator last year from the National Crime Agency.
FCA officials have blamed some of the lack of action in recent years on the backlog created by the covid pandemic, which has clogged up potential action and convictions.