Reference Case Number: FOI8639
Freedom of Information: Right to know request:
1. How many investigations the FCA has opened into non-financial misconduct
2. The number of investigations involving individuals in the SMCR
3. The number of active investigations into non-financial misconduct
I would like this information for each of the past 5 years. Please can you provide this information with a year end of June 30th?
Clarified: how many enforcement investigations were opened against individuals, under the SMCR specifically related to non-financial misconduct.
FCA response:
Senior Managers & Certification Regime
- The Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) has applied to Senior Manager Functions (SMFs) at UK banks, building societies, credit unions, branches of foreign banks operating in the UK and the largest investment firms regulated by the PRA and the FCA since 7 March 2016;
- SMFs at dual-regulated insurers (regulated by both the FCA and PRA) have been subject to the SM&CR since 10 December 2018;
- The SM&CR replaced the Approved Persons Regime (APER) for SMFs from 9 December 2019 for solo-regulated firms regulated by the FCA only; and
- For banking firms, the FCA Code of Conduct (COCON) was extended to non-SMF staff from 07 March 2017. For insurance firms, COCON was extended to apply to non-SMF staff from 09 December 2019. It was extended from 31 March 2021 for solo regulated firms. The COCON rules apply to those staff that fall under the SM&CR.
Potential misconduct by individuals at firms prior to the dates listed above when the new regimes became effective is largely captured under APER (the Approved Persons Regime).
1. How many investigations the FCA has opened into non-financial misconduct?
We have taken ‘investigations’ to mean enforcement cases in which investigators have been formally appointed under section 168(2)(a) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
Please also note, you have asked for data for each of the past 5 years with a year end of June 30th. However, we have provided you with the information in calendar year format, as this is the way the data is recorded in our systems and under the FOIA we are not obliged to create new information in order to satisfy the request. We trust the below information is of use to you.
Turning now to your request, 4 enforcement investigations have been opened into non-financial misconduct (NFM) under the SM&CR since the regime became effective, per table 1 below.
Table 1
|
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 (to 26/05) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
In addition to COCON investigations under the SM&CR, the FCA has opened 10 Threshold Conditions investigations into non-financial misconduct - please see table 2 below for details.
Table 2
|
Date Range |
Number of Threshold Conditions Investigations |
|---|---|
|
07 March 2016* – 28 September 2016 |
0 |
|
28 September 2016 – 28 September 2017 |
0 |
|
28 September 2017 – 27 September 2018 |
1 |
|
28 September 2018 – 27 September 2019 |
5 |
|
28 September 2019 – 27 September 2020 |
1 |
|
28 September 2020 – 27 September 2021 |
2 |
|
28 September 2021 – 27 May 2022*** |
1 |
|
Total |
10 |
*This date has been taken as the starting point because this is the date on which SM&CR became effective, as stated in the summary provided above.
2. How many enforcement investigations were opened against individuals, under the SMCR specifically related to non-financial misconduct.
Please refer to table 1 above.
3. The number of active investigations into non-financial misconduct
There are 2 active enforcement investigations into non-financial misconduct under SMCR and 4 active Threshold conditions investigations into non-financial misconduct.