All eyes on FCA Enforcement Watch 1

The FCA has published the first edition of its new ‘Enforcement Watch’ publication (EW1), a newsletter covering insights and themes from its recent enforcement work. 

This forms part of the FCA’s efforts to deliver a more transparent, effective and visible enforcement function and follows the publication of its updated Enforcement Guide last year (as we spoke about in our article).

The new publication provides an opportunity for firms and individuals to gain a more detailed, real-time insight into the enforcement division’s current workload and, in particular, its newly opened cases. The FCA will expect market participants to take note of the themes and observations noted in this publication.

The FCA has not confirmed the frequency of Enforcement Watch, but there is a subscription link to receive the newsletter.

What does Enforcement Watch 1 tell us?

EW1 notes that between 3 June and 31 December 2025, the FCA opened 23 enforcement operations. Operations may include more than one enforcement investigation (e.g. separate investigations into multiple firms and individuals relating to the same underlying issue).

Of these operations:

• Six relate to individuals. None have met the (high) bar for public announcement.
• Three are investigations into named listed issuers, following each firm’s own announcement.
• Two unnamed firms are being investigated for unauthorised business activity. The FCA is keeping under review whether to announce the investigations pursuant to its publicity policy.
• Two investigations are into unnamed insurers in the home and travel markets.
• 12 operations are into authorised firms, one of which has been named under the FCA’s their ‘exceptional circumstances test’ - The Claims Protection Agency (TCPA). This case is of particular interest, as TCPA filed a judicial review application challenging the FCA’s decision to announce, which was ultimately dismissed by the High Court (and the Court of Appeal refused permission to appeal). 

Of the remaining operations, the FCA considered the ‘exceptional circumstances’ test was not met and notes it will keep its position under review.

EW1 provides an insight into the FCA’s current enforcement priorities, noting that, of the 23 enforcement operations:

• 18 relate to regulatory breaches;
• four consider criminal and regulatory offences; and
• one relates solely to potential criminal offences.

In terms of topics, the new cases include the following.

• Individual responsibility for potential regulatory failings including: providing false information to the FCA; suspected fraud; and misappropriation of funds.
• Potential market disclosure issues.
• Suspected unauthorised business, particularly in the cryptoasset sector.
• 6 potential Consumer Duty breaches by firms, particularly in relation to fair value for consumers.
• Suspected systems and controls failings, including inadequate oversight of systems or relying on third party providers that did not meet the required standards.
• Adequacy of financial crime controls.
• Five investigations in the consumer investment and asset management sectors.

What this means overall

This data provides a valuable insight for firms and individuals on the FCA’s current enforcement priorities, which was historically available only on an annual basis. This provides a useful risk management and horizon-scanning tool for firms (including both authorised firms and listed issuers) and certified persons / senior managers.

The newsletter does not provide an update on the current pace of enforcement work or the enforcement team’s overall workload, but it highlights the current focus of new enforcement work.

It appears that the number of new enforcement cases is not slowing down compared to last year. In its annual enforcement report published in July 2025, the FCA confirmed that it had opened 23 operations during the twelve month period from 31 March 2024 to 31 March 2025. The latest data in EW1 highlights that it has opened 23 further investigations during a six month period (from 3 June to 31 December 2025). 

The message from the enforcement team is clear: the best way for firms to mitigate the risk of enforcement action is ‘to do the right thing’ before the FCA opens a formal investigation. This means cooperating with FCA supervision, being open and transparent with the FCA and putting things right promptly where concerns are identified.