UK Act of Parliament 2012 United Kingdom

Financial Services Act 2012

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At a glance

Enforced by

FCA, Takeover Panel, PRA

What's here

23 compliance obligations, 5 practical guides across 2 topics · 5 journeys · 29 statutory instruments

Penalty landscape

3 of 23 obligations carry imprisonment (7 years). 3 carry different penalties and 17 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Who this Act binds

Business-side actors with duties under this Act, ranked by how often they appear.

  • Any Person 6

Plus 17 non-business duties on Crown ministers, regulators, local authorities or tribunals — shown collapsed under each section below.

Step-by-step journeys using this legislation

Walkthroughs that take you from a real business situation to compliance.

Relevant guidance

Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.

Supporting — topic alignment

5 guides

Other Acts binding the same actors

For each actor bound by this Act, the other UK Acts that bind them most often. Useful for understanding the full compliance landscape facing each role.

Any Person also bound by 749 other Acts (top 5 shown)

What this Act requires

Sections that create concrete duties on businesses or carry penalties. Procedural and definitional sections are folded into the “Browse other sections” expander at the bottom of each group. Click any section title to read the source text on legislation.gov.uk.

Part 1 — Bank of England

Browse 3 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 2 — Amendments of Financial Services and Markets Act 2000

Browse 36 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 3 — Mutual societies

Browse 8 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 4 — Collaboration between Treasury and Bank of England, FCA or PRA

s.057

Duty of Bank to inform Treasury about resolution plans

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Bank of England must share resolution plans with the Treasury Statutory regulator
Browse 5 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.057

Duty of Bank to provide information required by Treasury

Part 5 — Inquiries and investigations

s.071

Conclusion of inquiry

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Person holding an inquiry must report findings to the Treasury Crown / Minister / Government department
s.072

Obstruction and contempt

2 years imprisonment
  • Obstruct or fail to cooperate with a regulatory inquiry Any Person
s.078

Conduct of investigation

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Regulators and Treasury must manage the conduct of investigations Statutory regulator
s.079

Conclusion of investigation

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Regulators must report investigation findings and lessons to the Treasury Statutory regulator
s.080

Statements of policy

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Regulators must publish investigation policy statements Statutory regulator
Browse 10 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.076

Duty of Payment Systems Regulator to investigate and report on possible regulatory failure

Part 6 — Investigation of complaints against regulators

Browse 3 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 7 — Offences relating to financial services

s.089

Misleading statements

7 years imprisonment
  • Make misleading statements or conceal facts to influence financial deals Any Person
s.090

Misleading impressions

7 years imprisonment
  • Creating a misleading impression of financial markets or investments Any Person
s.092

Penalties

10 years imprisonment
  • Make misleading statements or impressions regarding financial markets Any Person
Browse 3 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 8 — Amendments of Banking Act 2009

Browse 3 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 9 — Miscellaneous

Browse 2 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 10 — General

Browse 7 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Schedules

Browse 9 other Schedules — structural / supplementary
Read the full Act on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)

Official guidance

Authoritative sources published by regulators or government explaining this legislation.

Enforcement and responsible bodies

The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.

FCA

Primary

Financial Conduct Authority

Regulation of financial services firms and markets. Supervises banks, insurers, investment firms, payment services, and cryptoasset businesses. Issues authorisations and enforces conduct …

Takeover Panel

Panel on Takeovers and Mergers

Regulates takeovers and mergers involving public companies and some private companies in the UK. Issues the Takeover Code. Ensures shareholders are treated …

PRA

Prudential Regulation Authority

Part of the Bank of England. Prudentially regulates and supervises around 1,292 banks, building societies, credit unions, insurers, and major investment firms. …

Connected legislation

29 statutory instruments

These instruments amend, apply, or refer to this Act. They may not all create direct business obligations.

Secondary legislation (29)

+ 14 more statutory instruments

Explore more

Browse legislation

Find other UK business legislation with related guidance.

Regulators

Learn more about the bodies that enforce this legislation.