FCA (Financial Conduct Authority)
The UK’s conduct regulator for financial services firms and markets.
The FCA was created in 2013, replacing the Financial Services Authority alongside the Prudential Regulation Authority. It regulates the conduct of about 50,000 firms, from banks and insurers to investment platforms, mortgage brokers, and crypto-asset registrations for money-laundering purposes. The FCA Handbook sets the rules for product disclosure, suitability, complaints handling, and treating customers fairly. Its Consumer Duty (in force from July 2023) requires firms to deliver good outcomes for retail customers. You can check whether a firm or individual is authorised on the FCA Register.
A 60-second lesson that puts this term in context, alongside the others, lives inside the Finlo app.