FCA says 21 CFD firms have shut down in crackdown on misleading customers

LONDON — Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority said on Friday that 21 firms offering contracts for difference (CFDs) had closed since 2025, with three more cancelling their regulatory permissions to trade and two under investigation, after a crackdown on firms misleading customers.

The regulator did not name the firms. It said some CFD providers do little business in Britain but use their UK authorisation to lend credibility to linked overseas businesses, leading customers to believe they were dealing directly with a UK-regulated firm and would benefit from UK protections.

CFDs are complex financial products used to bet on the price of a wide range of assets without owning them. The FCA restricted their sale to retail customers in 2019 and has been tightening oversight of providers since.

“Consumers need to know exactly who they’re dealing with and what protections they have,” Dominic Holland, the FCA’s director of sell-side supervision, said in a statement. “When firms blur the lines between their UK-regulated activities and overseas businesses, we will step in.”

Retail customers trading CFDs through FCA-authorised firms can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service, may receive compensation if a firm fails, and benefit from limits on leverage, among other protections.

Reporting by Kirstin Ridley for Reuters.

Sources

• Reuters: UK regulatory crackdown closes CFD firms with overseas links — https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/uk-regulatory-crackdown-closes-cfd-firms-with-overseas-links-2026-09-24/
• Financial Conduct Authority: permanent restrictions on the sale of CFDs to retail consumers — https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-confirms-permanent-restrictions-sale-cfds-and-cfd-options-retail-consumers