The five-year strategy (2025 - 2030) - Where publicity fits
The FCA's approach to investigation-stage publicity sits within its broader strategic positioning. In its 2025-2030 Strategy, the Authority commits to acting faster and more assertively where harm is greatest, emphasising faster action, data-led supervision, consumer protection and harm prevention, clearer public messaging, and strengthened market confidence.
Naming can serve several of those objectives. It may mitigate consumer harm by alerting customers at an early stage; influence market behaviour before final outcomes are determined, and communicate enforcement priorities to the wider market. In that sense, publicity can be an important part of the regulatory toolkit.
Practical implications for firms
Investigation-stage naming continues to raise difficult questions of fairness and proportionality. The concerns expressed during consultation - procedural fairness, reputational harm and the risk of irreversible market impact - remain valid for market participants.
The CIT judgment demonstrates the limits of the scope for successful challenge. Judicial review provides some check, but is limited in nature. Further, not all firms will have the resources to pursue urgent proceedings, particularly given compressed timelines and the need to seek interim relief before publication occurs.
The implications for regulated firms are clear: where compliance or enforcement issues arise, firms need to be prepared for the possibility that theirs may be a case which the FCA considers appropriate for early-stage publicity. Firms therefore need to have a holistic approach, and to be prepared to engage the requisite skills across different advisers, to cover the legal, regulatory and publicity risks, including for listed entities the impact on shareholders and market disclosure obligations.
Firms may, therefore, need to engage with the regulator at a very early stage as to whether there is an intention to publicise, and raise arguments if appropriate as to why an anonymised announcement may be appropriate.
Overall, the momentum is with the FCA on publicity.
The formal test remains unchanged: publication at the investigation stage requires “exceptional circumstances”. However, it is a high bar for any firm to challenge a decision to publicise. Firms need to be ready for this new environment.
