The Financial Conduct Authority has cancelled the permissions of advice firm KBFS Financial Limited, preventing it from providing any financial services.
Explaining its decision, the FCA stated that KBFS Financial Limited “failed to engage with us in an open and cooperative way”.
Additionally, the authority claimed the firm had failed to pay redress awarded to former members of the British Steel Pension Scheme by the Financial Ombudsman Service.
The FCA detailed that KBFS Financial Limited was authorised on July 1 2019 and had a Part 4A permission to conduct certain regulated activities, such as advising on investment and advising pension transfers and pension opt outs.
However, the firm failed to pay periodic fees and levies owed to the authority.
In particular, there was an invoice dated July 18 2022 for periodic fees and levies of £12,072 which had been due for payment by August 17 2022.
Additionally, KBFS Financial Limited failed to submit returns to the FCA and, consequently, the firm has failed to provide information to the authority as is required.
On December 20 2023, the FCA gave KBFS Financial Limited a notice which stated that it appeared the firm was carrying on no regulated activity to which its permission relates and that the FCA may take action to cancel its permission.
However, the firm failed to respond to this notice and, as a result, the FCA made the decision to cancel KBFS’s permission.
The firm may make an application for an annulment of this decision, but this must be submitted by February 8 2025.
The authority added that if anyone was advised by KBFS or its director, Kathryn Brown, to transfer out of the BSPS they should make a claim with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
At the beginning of this month, the FSCS placed KBFS Financial Ltd and Brown under investigation over British Steel Pension Scheme claims.
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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