OE-M02: Total number of withdrawals, refusals and rejections for new firm authorisations, and reasons for refusal, broken down by sector
2024/25 values
Table: New Firms – Withdrawals/Refusals
| Sector | Withdrawals | Refusals | Rejections |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit and Lending | 268 | 7 | 76 |
| Payment Services/E-Money | 108 | 0 | 39 |
| Banking | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Insurance | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Consumer Investments | 19 | 1 | 15 |
| Crypto (5MLD) | 18 | 4 | 9 |
| 3/4MLD | 51 | 0 | 12 |
| Wholesale | 27 | 0 | 6 |
| Total | 506 | 12 | 157 |
Source: FCA data
Applications are rejected if they don’t contain the minimum information[2] we ask for.
Five of the refusals were due to firms not responding to our correspondence about their applications. The remaining 7 refusals were because applicants were unable to address our concerns:
- In 2 cases the appropriateness of the product or service did not meet our standards.
- In 2 cases the competence, capacity, or fitness of Senior Managers did not meet our standards.
- In 2 cases there were concerns about the fitness and propriety of the firm itself.
- In 1 case the systems and controls intended to operate the business did not meet our standards
Find out more about why applications for authorisation may be withdrawn, refused or rejected[2].
2023/24 values
Table: New Firms – Withdrawals/Refusals
| Sector | Withdrawals | Refusals | Rejections |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit and Lending | 400 | 18 | 322 |
| Payment Services/E-Money | 172 | 0 | 10 |
| Banking | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Insurance | 26 | 1 | 0 |
| Consumer Investments | 52 | 0 | 22 |
| Crypto (5MLD) | 30 | 0 | 6 |
| 3/4MLD | 71 | 0 | 13 |
| Wholesale | 56 | 0 | 5 |
| Total | 809 | 19 | 378 |
Source: FCA data
Applications are rejected if they don’t contain the minimum information we ask for. If you are considering applying check what you need to provide[4].
13 of the refusals were because firms stopped responding to us about their application. The remaining 6 refusals were because applicants were unable to address our concerns about:
- in 2 cases their ability to meet the Effective supervision threshold condition
- in 2 cases, the competence, capacity, or fitness of their Senior Managers
- the systems and controls they planned to use to operate their business
- their ability to deliver the consumer support outcome of the Consumer Duty
Most refusals are published on our website[3].
Find out more about why applications for authorisation may be withdrawn, refused or rejected[5].