On 29 April 2025, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a speech on its agenda to combat market abuse, which was delivered by its joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, Therese Chambers, at the Market Abuse and Market Manipulation Summit.
Ms Chambers flags that the FCA’s new 5-year strategy for 2025-2030 includes a pillar dedicated to fighting financial crime, and that its work on market abuse is a critical part of all areas of its strategy.
She describes the work the FCA has been doing to deal with market abuse, including its work on transaction reporting, and notes that the FCA plans to publish a consultation paper on transaction reporting later in 2025.
Ms Chambers also discusses the FCA’s key priorities in this area, which include:
- Organised crime groups (OCGs): Insider trading OCGs have been identified as causing the most serious market abuse harm and the FCA has been using its “disruptive tools” to address this, including executing arrests, and sharing information and coordinating with multiple agencies and partners both in the UK and abroad.
- Inside information, with strategic leaks and unlawful disclosure highlighted as areas of concern. The FCA recently joint roundtable with the heads of merger and acquisition teams from major investment banks to discuss how to stamp out this behaviour. Looking forward, it has significantly ramped up its effort and coverage across Fixed Income, Currencies & Commodities markets and will continue to do so.
- International engagement and strategy: The FCA notes that it is strengthening its international engagement and strategy, as market abuse is a “global challenge requiring global solutions”.