In Regulatory Wrap for the week to May 1, Aarti Agarwal discusses the FCA’s latest enforcement approach against unauthorized financial promotions on social media.
In this week’s Regulatory Wrap, we unpack the FCA’s recent “week of action” against finance influencers – a.k.a. “finfluencers.” Alongside 16 other regulatory bodies, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued warnings and takedown requests to deter unauthorized finfluencer promotions.
1. The FCA has spearheaded a “week of action” alongside 16 regulators worldwide to crack down on noncompliance “finfluencer” activity
2. As part of this action, the FCA issued four targeted warning letters to suspected individuals, sent 34 warnings to firms and individuals, made 120 account takedown requests to social media platforms hosting unauthorized content, and identified over 1,000 illegal financial adverts
3. The FCA also called for social media platforms hosting finfluencer content to play a more proactive role in policing and preventing illegal financial promotions “at source”
4. “Finfluencers” have been on the rise, with TransUnion reporting that almost 2 million U.K. consumers have taken financial advice from influencers without checking their credentials
5. Alongside the FCA, regulators such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) have taken a proactive approach to unauthorized finfluencer activity by fining firms and individuals for noncompliant promotions on social media and company websites
This week’s Regulatory Wrap is brought to you by Global Relay’s Senior Content and Brand Coordinator, Aarti Agarwal.
Regulators across the globe are cranking up the heat on illegal financial promotions. To avoid the hot seat, firms should consider whether they’re adequately monitoring social media and website promotional activity to spot signs of risk before they become a #problem.
