The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has released the data for financial promotions for the second quarter. In the report, the regulator disclosed that retail investments and the lending sector had made the greatest number of amended promotions.

According to the data generated between April 1 and June 30, the number of interventions made by the FCA resulted in 1,507 promotions being amended or withdrawn by regulated entities. Besides that, the FCA issued 400 alerts to unauthorized firms and individuals, of which 11% of them were clone scams.

FCA's Reviews

Of the 301 financial promotions reviewed by the FCA, 39% were from consumers, and 20% were from the UK's regulators. The financial promotions reviewed were different areas of the FCA, proactive monitoring and companies, with figures of 16%, 15%, and 10%, respectively.

In June, the regulator released rules and regulations for companies promoting cryptocurrencies in the UK. Thus, the regulator has cautioned firms not to break the regulations, which are expected to be implemented on October 8. One of the provisions in the legislation is that the regulator wants digital asset companies to ensure that their investors have the necessary knowledge before investing in cryptocurrencies.

Social Media Ads

In July, Finance Magnates reported that the FCA had strengthened its efforts to prevent financial promotions that do not comply with the regulations. Additionally, the regulator has tightened rules related to the advertisement of financial services on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

Lucy Castledine, the Director of consumer investments at the FCA, said: "We have seen a number of advertisements falling short of the guidance we have to stop harm to consumers. We want people to stay on their right side of our rules, so we are updating our guidance to clarify what we expect of firms when marketing financial products online."

In the past, the FCA has gone a step further to remove what it considers misleading advertisements on social media. Additionally, the regulator has banned some of the incentives that prompt people to invest in digital assets.