Some 56 FCA-regulated firms amended or withdrew 5,310 financial promotions or advertising between 1 July and 30 September following intervention by the regulator.

During the quarter the FCA reviewed 1,211 financial promotions, 11% of which had been referred by consumers and 14% by UK regulators and firms.

Some 75% of the promotions reviewed were referred to the service through the FCA’s own proactive monitoring, according to the regulator's latest figures.

Over two-fifths (41%) of the financial promotions reviewed were about retail banking while almost the same percentage of retail investment promotions were reviewed, at 39%.

Retail investments and retail lending were the sectors with the highest number of promotions amended or withdrawn, totalling 80% of the FCA’s interventions with authorised firms.

Some of the most common breaches involved debt advice firms, credit broker firms and Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) providers where the FCA undertook a proactive review.

Over the quarter the regulator received 5,346 reports about potential unauthorised businesses.

The regulator issued 488 alerts on unauthorised firms and individuals, 11% of which were clone scams.

In one example the FCA said it was concerned that consumers were being presented with materials about investment opportunities where there was significant risk that those materials were inaccurate and/or potentially misleading.

In one case a firm acting as an ISA manager and providing related services to companies issuing these investment opportunities was unable to demonstrate it understood what it was distributing. The firm had inadequate systems and controls and resources to ensure these investments were distributed appropriately and in the best interest of its clients.

Due to the breaches and risks to consumers, the FCA used its Own Initiative for Imposition of Requirements (OIREQ) power to stop the firm undertaking regulated activities for any new investments or adding new funds to existing investments.

• On 8 July the FCA published PS 23/6 - Financial promotions rules for cryptoassets which outlined the requirements for firms promoting cryptoassets to retail clients. The rules, which went live on 8 October, require financial promotions to be clear, fair, and not misleading, to display clear risk warnings, to disclose the firm’s regulated status and cease offering any form of incentive to invest.