The overall number of approved persons fell sharply in the second quarter of the year, coupled with a drop in new business authorisations after cancellations, figures suggest.

The FSA has fined the London branch of Société Générale £1.57m for failures in transaction reporting.

A former Park Row adviser has decided to leave the IFA sector because he is fed up with waiting for the FSA to re-authorise him.

The Tories faced renewed questions over their links to rich tycoons last night after accepting a £500,000 donation from a City boss who revels in his comparison to a notorious Hollywood villain.

The FSA will recruit 30 more lawyers and investigators to combat commercial crime, even as it faces being broken up, according to reports.

The Keydata victims website has been relaunched after its predecessor was forced to shut-down following a libel dispute.

Will writing practices will become more unscrupulous, or even illegal, unless the Legal Services Act is amended before its implementation next year, law firm Moore Blatch says.

The Keydata saga was further complicated this week as a row broke out between Norwich & Peterborough and the FOS over the sales of Keydata plans through the building society.

News from financial fools beyond the help of even the Government's basic advice service. Today, two canny citizens try to cheat death and taxes.

Norwich & Peterborough's (N&P) chief executive says its customers lost money in Keydata because of fraud, not mis-selling, and he has passed the buck for compensation to the FSA and FSCS.