Public Naming and Shaming

Regulators can publish enforcement decisions, warnings, public statements of censure, lists of unauthorised firms and rankings of complaints. Publication is thought to work because most firms depend on trust: customers, investors and counterparties react to a public finding. It also tells the market what behaviour is unacceptable. The tool is used alone for minor breaches, and alongside fines or bans for serious ones. Critics point to fairness, since a name published at the start of an investigation can harm a firm that is later cleared, and to the wider damage to innocent staff or customers. Many regimes therefore publish only after a final decision, allow the firm to comment first, and in some cases withhold names if publication would harm financial stability. A named firm often loses more through departing clients than it pays in the fine.

A small insurance broker repeatedly sold policies without checking customer needs. Beyond a modest fine, the regulator publishes a notice naming the broker and describing the failings. Within months, several partner insurers review their arrangements, and the broker loses clients, a cost that exceeds the fine itself.