On 6 September 2023, the FCA published a speech delivered by Sarah Pritchard, Executive Director of Markets and International, at the Financial Crime Summit 2023. The speech addresses calibrating controls to build confident markets.

In her speech, Ms Pritchard makes the following remarks:

• As an outcomes and data-led regulator, the FCA is focusing on results. There has been an eight per cent reduction in the total amount lost through fraud in the last year, according to data from UK Finance.
• Firms need to understand their risks and calibrate their controls appropriately and proportionately. Those checks carried out by firms can disrupt serious criminality and protect the public. They should also expect spot checks by the FCA.  
• The FCA has published its report on sanctions where it identifies good and bad practice.
• The FCA will increase its focus on whistleblowing in high-risk sectors and expects first line of defence employees to raise awareness of the process and benefits of whistleblowing for organisations and wider society. It will be testing how effectively these messages have been shared and will identify best practice across the industry. 
• The FCA is also working to support changes to faster payments, so that payments can be slowed down in cases of suspected fraud. 
• Firms must be able to manage financial crime risks. However, if politically exposed persons (PEPs) rules are applied inappropriately, individuals and their families may find themselves excluded from products or services through no fault of their own.  Therefore, the FCA is engaging with PEPs, firms, and other stakeholders to understand whether it needs to make improvements to how the regime applies in the UK.