Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

High Court upholds FCA’s ‘exceptional circumstances’ naming; consumer protection prevails. Expect tougher investigations publicity—engage customers early and prepare rapid judicial review applications

Published on: 11 November 2025

Published by a Law360 reporter

Legal News

Article summary

The High Court dismissed the anonymised company’s judicial review application on 23 October 2025, concluding that the FCA’s decision-making process, and its ultimate outcome in the matter, were reasonable when consumer protection was taken into account. Judge Michael Fordham endorsed the regulator’s choice to name and shame the firm in exceptional circumstances, although he observed that some strands of the reasoning were not especially robust. As the judgment in The King (CIT (an anonymised company)) v The Financial Conduct Authority explained, the FCA had determined that promptly identifying the company was required to inform and protect its customers at the earliest opportunity. That consideration carried considerable weight with the court. ‘In-house compliance and legal officers should keep this firmly in mind when handling an FCA investigation and may wish to consider early engagement with affected customers to...head off a similar naming announcement by the [FCA],’ said Caroline Black, consultant with Gherson Solicitors LLP. Companies understand that if the FCA names and shames them during the early stages—before it has reached an outcome—it can cause serious reputational harm because customers would withdraw. Industry objections drove the FCA’s March 2025 decision to scrap enhanced proposals to publicly identify companies under investigation, but...

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