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FCA fines slowed to a trickle in the first half of the 2016/17 financial year—in both number and monetary value—with the regulator imposing only 12 fines totalling less than £7 million. The amount of financial penalties imposed by the FCA dropped substantially during this period, compared to nearly £800 million in the first half of the previous financial year and more than £1 billion in the six months prior to that.

NERA’s new report, Trends in Regulatory Enforcement in UK Financial Markets 2016/17 Mid-Year Report, analyses trends drawn from a proprietary database of fines, criminal prosecution, and other enforcement activity by the FCA, in order to look behind the headline numbers.

While FCA fine activity in the first half of the 2016/17 financial year was low, this may simply reflect a transient lull as the regulator redirects resources from several large-scale investigations that have recently concluded. Based upon fine activity early in the second half of the 2016/17 financial year, fines against firms may already be picking up in intensity.

Read NERA’s full report for an in-depth analysis of the first six months of the regulator’s 2016/17 financial year.