How this site's figures are produced

This page explains where the two tables come from, what the statuses mean, why dates differ, and what a licence check cannot show about how a firm behaves.

The two FSCA records and how each is read

The warnings table is read from the warnings section of the website of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority. The provider table is read from the FSCA's published register of over-the-counter derivative providers. Both are read once a week, and each row carries the date the source published it or the status date the register gives. A row records what the source published, not a finding of ours. The tables sit above the text on their pages; the text names no entity and quotes no figure from the table.

The warnings section holds public notices about entities that are not authorised or that are impersonating authorised firms. The derivative register lists providers with statuses the register itself uses: authorised, application pending, application withdrawn, application refused, exempt, licence ended. The register does not give reasons for a status, and this site does not interpret why a status is what it is. No firm is rated, ranked or called safe.

The statuses in the derivative-provider register and what each says

The register uses six status words. Authorised means the provider holds a licence for over-the-counter derivatives at the time of the read. Application pending means the provider has applied and the regulator has not yet decided. Application withdrawn means the provider pulled its application. Application refused means the regulator declined it. Exempt means the provider is exempt from holding a licence under the current rules. Licence ended means a licence the provider once held has come to an end.

A status is a snapshot, not a history. A provider can move from one status to another, and the register does not say why the status changed. When a reader compares this table with a platform's claims, the exact legal name matters: the register lists entities by their legal name, and a trading name alone is not enough.

Why dates differ between warnings and register entries

A warning gets a publication date, the day the regulator put the notice on its site. A register entry may show a status date, the day the register last changed that row. The two are different records with different rhythms: warnings are added as the FSCA publishes them, while the register is updated when a provider's status changes. A platform's claim can be older than the latest warning, or newer than the latest register read.

Because both are read once a week, a change can appear on the FSCA's site before it appears here. The date on a row is the date the source shows, not the date this site read it. When a reader checks a platform, they should look at the date on the warning or the register entry and compare it with the platform's own statements.

What a licence check cannot show about how a firm behaves

A licence check shows what the regulator has recorded: the legal name, the FSP number, the categories, the status and the key individuals. It does not show how the firm treats clients, how it prices, or whether it will return money. A firm can hold a licence and still act badly; a firm can lose its licence and still take clients. This site presents the regulator's records, not a verdict on any firm.

The absence of a warning does not authorise anything. The presence of a warning does not settle a dispute. A reader who is deciding where to trade should use the licence check as one step, not as the whole decision. The FSCA's own registers are the source; this site repeats what they say and nothing more.