FCA Claims Progress on Illegal Promotions and Market Abuse in First Year of Five-Year Plan

The Financial Conduct Authority says it has tackled the most serious risks and harms in year one of its 2025–2030 strategy, with a focus on cracking down on illegal financial promotions and market abuse.

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What the FCA Is Saying

The Financial Conduct Authority has posted on social media claiming progress in the first year of its five-year strategy, saying it has taken “decisive action to protect consumers, fight financial crime and uphold market integrity.”

The regulator — which oversees around 50,000 financial services firms across the UK — launched its 2025–2030 strategy on 25 March 2025. It sets out four priorities: becoming a smarter regulator, supporting sustained economic growth, helping consumers manage their financial lives, and fighting financial crime.

Cracking down on illegal promotions and market abuse sits at the heart of that final priority.

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Tackling Fraud and Financial Crime

The FCA’s strategy commits to detecting financial crime faster, disrupting firms and individuals involved, and removing fraudsters from the financial system altogether. That includes a sharper focus on investment fraud and authorised push payment scams — where criminals trick people into sending money directly to them.

On top of that, the regulator says it will raise awareness of these scams and increase alerts to help consumers protect themselves before they lose money.

Market abuse — covering insider dealing, market manipulation and suspicious trading behaviour — is also in the FCA’s sights. The strategy backs targeted supervision, enforcement action and criminal investigations where rules are broken.

But specific figures on how many illegal promotions were blocked, how many warnings were issued, or how many market abuse cases were investigated in year one have not been independently verified from the sources reviewed.

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A Shift in How the FCA Works

The strategy also marks a change in approach. The FCA says it wants to be more predictable, purposeful and proportionate — moving away from lengthy thematic reviews and portfolio letters towards sector priority reports and more targeted action.

That means streamlining data collection, cutting redundant reporting requirements and improving how the regulator interacts with the firms it oversees. For smaller firms in particular, the aim is to reduce the administrative burden without loosening standards.

The UK government has pointed to the FCA’s five-year plan as an example of regulators adopting long-term, proportionate approaches. HM Treasury has set expectations around timeliness — for instance, complete applications for variations of permissions should be decided within three months, while incomplete applications allow up to six months where the permission sought fits the firm’s existing business model.

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Industry Reaction: Cautious Welcome

Many firms and financial advisers have broadly welcomed the FCA’s move towards more predictable regulation and reduced thematic reviews. Analysts at compliance advisory firm ACA Group noted the annual work programme — the FCA’s year-one operational plan — translates the high-level strategy into concrete activities across all four priority areas.

Yet some in the industry remain watchful. Greater data-led supervision and tougher financial crime controls can raise compliance costs, and firms want to see that the promised simplification actually arrives in practice — not just in strategy documents.

Consumer advocates, meanwhile, tend to welcome tougher action on scams and illegal promotions. Some critics do question whether enforcement moves quickly enough, and whether online scam content is still reaching consumers faster than regulators can act.

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The Numbers Behind the Standards

The FCA has published service standards for key regulatory decisions. Complete applications for authorisations and registrations from payments and e-money firms should be processed within three months; incomplete applications within ten months. These targets are part of the regulator’s push to be seen as a more efficient, business-friendly body without compromising on rigour.

Specific statistics on the impact of year-one actions — such as reductions in scam losses or the number of consumers protected — are not detailed in documents reviewed and remain unverified at this stage.

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Key Takeaways

• The FCA launched its 2025–2030 five-year strategy on 25 March 2025, with fighting financial crime — including illegal promotions and market abuse — as a core priority
• The regulator oversees around 50,000 financial services firms in the UK and has committed to faster detection of financial crime, stronger enforcement and increased scam alerts for consumers
• Specific year-one intervention figures have not been independently verified; the FCA’s annual work programme sets out operational objectives aligned to the four strategic priorities

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What This Means for Kent Residents

Kent residents using investment platforms, financial advisers, mortgage brokers or any other regulated financial service are covered by the FCA’s rules and will benefit directly from any tightening of standards around illegal promotions and market abuse. If you receive an unsolicited investment offer — by phone, email or social media — the FCA’s ScamSmart tool allows you to check whether a firm is authorised before handing over any money. Kent County Council’s Trading Standards service also runs local consumer protection work and can be contacted for advice if you suspect you’ve been targeted by a financial scam. Businesses operating from financial centres in towns such as Maidstone, Ashford or Tunbridge Wells should review their financial promotions and compliance controls now, given the FCA’s stated intention to use data-led supervision to identify firms falling short of its expectations.