25 September 2026
The Financial Conduct Authority said on 25 September 2026 that 21 firms offering contracts for difference have shut since 2025, and that three more are in the process of cancelling their permissions. The closures follow a long stretch of pressure from the regulator on one particular kind of firm, the kind that holds UK authorisation but does very little of its business in the UK.
This article was produced in collaboration with Ellismis. Thanks to Ellismis team for providing us with this latest information.
Firms Were Using UK Authorisation As A Badge For Overseas Companies
The FCA’s concern was a specific arrangement. A number of authorised CFD firms were, in its view, letting linked overseas companies stand behind the UK licence, so that a customer signing up from abroad believed they were dealing with a firm the FCA supervised and would be covered by UK protections if something went wrong. They were not. The UK entity handled little of the actual business, and the protections that come with authorisation, the Financial Ombudsman and the compensation scheme among them, do not cover a linked company in another jurisdiction.
The FCA Restricted Trading, Ordered Reviews And Opened Two Investigations
The regulator used more than one tool on the firms it challenged. Some had their trading abilities restricted. Some were required to bring in an independent reviewer to go through the business. In the two cases the FCA regarded as most serious it opened enforcement investigations. Twenty one firms closed rather than continue on those terms, and three are cancelling their permissions now.
Twenty one closures, three cancellations in progress, two enforcement investigations open.
On 1 September The FCA Also Warned Against A Firm Using A UK Phone Number
The closures are one side of September. The warning list is the other. On 1 September the FCA published a notice against Swift TradeX, a firm it says is not authorised and may be targeting people in the UK. The notice records a Worcester address and a UK telephone number for the firm, and in the same notice the FCA cautions that unauthorised businesses often use contact details that are incorrect or borrowed.
What A Reader Can Check Before Opening An Account
The FCA’s advice in the announcement is short. Before opening a CFD account, check the firm on the FCA register, and check that the entity you are contracting with is the authorised one rather than an affiliate that shares its name.
- The register entry should match the company name on the client agreement, not only the brand on the website.
- An authorised UK firm gives access to the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. An overseas affiliate does not.
- CFDs are leveraged, and the FCA’s own reminder in the same announcement was that large losses can build up very quickly.
Three more firms are cancelling their permissions, and the FCA has not said whether further names will follow.