The FCA now reject ever 1 of 5 license applicant, as compared to last year’s 1 in every 14. This was revealed by the Chief Executive Officer of the regulator, Nikhil Rathi, who furthered that the watchdog agency possesses the initiative and the will to “take more legal risk, to intervene earlier, and to test our {the FCA’s} powers to the limits.”
He mentions a bank case, the very first criminal case towards a bank, that failed to conceal its money laundering practices, clearing millions in clients’ compensation funds. He gives this as an example of the their relentless and strict art of intervening.
The challenge that the FCA currently faces is one the whole of the UK faces, namely a steep rise in the average cost of living, caused by war in Ukraine, COVID epidemic, and internal political obstacles. The underlining geopolitical nature of these elements have made the FCA more vigilant.
Nevertheless, the FCA still remains every keen on unlicensed actors and firms “preying on consumers’ vulnerabilities.” As noted by the regulator, there is a 59 percent increase in crypto scam enquiries, between the April 1st, 2021, and March 31st, 2022 period.
Rathi adds that the FCA extra man power and new security measure have already started paying off on all ends, and is currently investigating into possible future automation technology that can take some of the workload off.
