The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fined firms and individuals almost £1.5bn (£1.47bn) in 2014, compliance service provider Kinetic Partners found in its Global Enforcement Review.
This figure was more than triple the £474.27m worth of fines from the FCA in 2014.
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While the total value of the fines increased, Kinetic Partners noted that the number of fines actually fell over the year. In the 2013/14 fiscal year 46 fines were issued, compared to 51 issued the year before, and 83 the year before that.
As a result the average size of the fines increased, up from £9.88m in 2013 to £36.79m in 2014.
The vast bulk of the fines were against companies, with total individual fines amounting to £2.9m in 2014, down from £4.99m in 2013.
Monique Melis, managing director and global head of regulatory consulting at Kinetic Partners, said: "2014 saw a significant spike in the severity of financial penalties virtually across the board, as regulators have been getting tougher on both firms and individuals. However, the averages only tell part of the story as they have been pushed up by a relatively small number of historic fines, mainly relating to Libor and Forex manipulation. We are now entering an era of regulatory enforcement in which the ‘new normal’ consists of exceptionally severe penalties and a growing focus on individual bad actors, the aim of which is to impact and change the culture of firms."
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By GlobalData2015 has already seen a number of large fines from the FCA, including the £117m fine it issued against Lloyds for its handling of PPI complaints.
