Firms’ confidence, satisfaction and trust in the FCA rise

Satisfaction, perceived effectiveness and trust all rose year-on-year, with particularly strong confidence in the FCA's consumer protection, market integrity and market functioning roles. For compliance teams, the headline is not a new rulebook but a shift in supervisory tone and relationship dynamics. The survey also reveals a sharp increase in firms' understanding of the Secondary International Competitiveness and Growth Objective, suggesting the FCA's messaging on balancing competitiveness with robust regulation is landing.

Consumer Duty expectations remain well understood, reinforcing that firms should continue embedding outcomes-focused governance. No immediate compliance actions are mandated. However, executives should treat the findings as a useful benchmark: if internal sentiment or understanding of FCA priorities diverges from these sector-wide trends, it may indicate gaps in engagement, training or culture.

Compliance and regulatory affairs teams should review the full survey, assess whether their own FCA relationship and Consumer Duty readiness align with the improving baseline, and consider targeted dialogue with the FCA or Practitioner Panel on competitiveness and innovation. Firms that proactively demonstrate alignment with the FCA's objectives may benefit from more constructive supervision, while those lagging on Consumer Duty or competitiveness understanding could face sharper scrutiny. Overall, this is an informational update, but it offers actionable intelligence for regulatory strategy and board reporting.