The FCA's Q2 2026 mortgage lending statistics show gross advances up 31.7% year-on-year to £77.4 Billion, alongside a notable rise in high loan-to-value (90%+) and high loan-to-income lending. While arrears and possessions continued to decline, the growing share of higher-risk lending metrics warrants attention from compliance and risk teams at mortgage lenders.
The FCA has publicly flagged "Novatrust-asset" as an unauthorized entity potentially targeting UK consumers with financial services or products. Compliance teams should note this addition to the FCA Warning List as part of ongoing fraud monitoring and ensure customer-facing staff are aware of the firm's details to prevent inadvertent engagement or referrals.
The Federal Court found that Choosi Pty Ltd breached consumer protection provisions of the ASIC Act by misleading consumers into believing its comparison service surveyed a broad range of insurers, when in fact it overwhelmingly compared products from a single related insurer, Hannover. This case reinforces ASIC's continued enforcement focus on comparison services and "choice architecture" misrepresentations, with penalty submissions still to come.
The FCA's Q2 2026 MLAR statistics show outstanding residential mortgage balances, gross advances, and new commitments all rising quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year. While this is a routine data publication rather than a new rule, it provides compliance and risk teams with key market benchmarks for monitoring lending trends, affordability pressures, and prudential exposure.
ASIC secured a significant custodial sentence against former Western Australian director Joanne Pellew for dishonestly using her director position to transfer approximately AUD $739,655 between related companies, and for managing a corporation while disqualified. The case underscores ASIC's continued enforcement focus on director misconduct and breaches of disqualification orders, reinforcing the serious criminal consequences for abuse of the corporate form.
ASIC's Chair outlined active investigations into KPMG and Big Four audit firms, flagged systemic risks in private credit following the Bathla collapse, and detailed record enforcement outcomes of AUD $830 Million in civil penalties. Compliance teams across banking, insurance, audit, and private credit sectors should note heightened regulatory scrutiny and expect further guidance before year-end.
Alexander McCulloch, a former project manager at Beacon Minerals, was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment (released on a $5,000 recognizance) after pleading guilty to insider trading under the Corporations Act 2001. The case underscores ASIC's continued enforcement focus on market abuse by insiders with access to material non-public information and highlights the personal and reputational risks for employees who misuse confidential corporate data.
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