Following an audit by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Tuesday (26th September), more than 30 broker firms registered as trading styles under The Money Group (TMG) have been pulled.
The firms in question must now apply for authorised representative (AR) status via the FCA.
According to the FCA register affected brokerages include: Zest Money Group; JB Mortgages; Arima Financial; Seaman & Keys; West Wales Money; Brenton Rock Solutions; and The Mortgage Tailoring Service.
Some have criticised the trading styles approach as a way of using a lack of clarity around FCA guidelines in order to find a ‘back door’ to authorisation that avoids the regulator’s usual due diligence.
A number of the affected firms had websites and other processes already up and running under the new trading styles, which have now been put on hold pending AR approval.
Both TMG and the FCA were approached for comment prior to publication.
