Regulatory Investigations Update - July/August 2015
The summer months have seen the publication of final rules to implement the Senior Managers and Certification Regimes and the Conduct Rules, updated referral criteria for determining the appropriateness of enforcement action in any given circumstances and the search for a new Chief Executive of the FCA.
In a period during which fewer enforcement notices were issued, the Co-operative Bank plc Final Notices were notable for the decision by the PRA and FCA not to fine the Co-op for breaches of the Principles for Businesses and listing rules. Nonetheless, the sanctions imposed by the FCA on another Rabobank trader for LIBOR fraud, and senior executives of TailorMade Independent and Catalyst Investment Group for failings impacting retail customers, suggest that the regulators will continue to take a robust approach to enforcement going forward.
The 14-year sentence of Tom Hayes marks another success in the long-running investigations into benchmark misconduct and the judgment of the High Court in the Da Vinci Invest Limited case, the first case where the FCA has applied to the court to impose a financial penalty on a person for market abuse, highlights the continued importance of market abuse as a priority area for the FCA.