FCA fines increase 230% in 2024 amid heightened crackdown on financial misconduct

Last year, the regulator took out 27 enforcement actions, which resulted in £176m worth of fines, in its push to crackdown on financial misconduct. By comparison, fines in 2023 totalled £53.4m, SteelEye found, the first time in seven years the FCA issued fewer fines, which contributed to such a major year-on-year increase in 2024. The lion's share of penalties was in relation to breaches of the watchdog's Principles of Business, more specifically PRIN 3, which relates to management and control, including risk management. Among the 27 fines, PRIN 3 was mentioned in eight instances a...