MFSA Marketing Compliance Lessons from the 2025 Outcomes-Based Supervision Review

The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has increasingly shifted towards outcomes-based supervision, focusing less on box-ticking and more on real-world effects for consumers. Its 2025 review of marketing practices is an important signal for regulated firms in Malta and for EU-facing providers more broadly. While the details vary by sector, the big message is clear: how you market products matters as much as how you structure them. This article unpacks the main themes likely to arise from such a review and how firms can strengthen their marketing governance.

Why the MFSA’s 2025 Outcomes-Based Supervision Review Matters

The MFSA’s outcomes-based supervision framework is designed to focus on whether consumers actually receive fair treatment, not just whether firms meet technical rules on paper. Marketing and financial promotions sit at the heart of that shift, because the way a product is presented often determines whether a client properly understands the risk, cost, and suitability.

Although specific numerical findings and case details are reserved to official MFSA reports, the 2025 review clearly places marketing communications under the microscope. Firms operating in or from Malta should treat this as a roadmap of where supervisory expectations are heading and how enforcement priorities may evolve.

From Rules-Based to Outcomes-Based: What Changes in Practice?

Traditional rules-based supervision focuses on whether a firm complied with prescriptive requirements: adding a risk warning here, filing a notification there. Outcomes-based supervision, in contrast, asks: did the consumer get a fair result? Was information balanced? Did vulnerable customers suffer harm?

For marketing, this shift leads to several practical consequences:

• Substance over form: Having the right disclosure text is not enough if the overall message is still misleading.
• Consumer impact lens: Supervisors examine how real customers are likely to interpret a message, not how lawyers intended it.
• Ongoing monitoring: Firms are expected to test and review campaigns, not just sign them off once.
• Governance expectations: Boards and senior managers must demonstrate active oversight of promotional activity.

Core MFSA Expectations for Marketing Communications

Across sectors, a number of core principles consistently appear in MFSA guidance and European regulatory standards. The 2025 outcomes-based review is likely to have evaluated promotions against these foundational expectations.

Fair, Clear and Not Misleading

This is the cornerstone standard for any financial promotion. In practical terms, it means:

• Risks and benefits must be presented with similar prominence.
• Headlines and visuals cannot contradict or overshadow important caveats in the small print.
• Performance claims must be balanced, contextualised and verifiable.

Appropriate Targeting

Even a well-crafted ad can be problematic if it is shown to the wrong audience. Outcomes-based supervision pushes firms to consider:

• Whether a product is inherently complex or high risk, requiring narrow targeting.
• If filters and channels effectively prevent mass retail reach where the product is meant for professional or sophisticated investors.
• How vulnerable customers are protected from inappropriate messaging.

Common Marketing Compliance Gaps Highlighted by Supervisors

While each MFSA review cycle has its own focus, several recurring weaknesses tend to emerge when regulators assess marketing compliance. These themes are consistent with broader European supervisory experience and are highly relevant to Maltese firms.

1. Unbalanced Risk and Return Messaging

Promotions often place prominent emphasis on potential returns, yield, or income, while relegating key risks to footnotes or legalese. Under an outcomes-based lens, this fails because the overall impression still leans towards over-optimism.

2. Over-Reliance on Disclaimers

Some firms assume that long disclaimers can cure an otherwise misleading message. Supervisors increasingly reject this approach. If the main message is misleading, no amount of small print is likely to bring the promotion back into compliance.

3. Vague or Unsubstantiated Claims

Statements such as “market-leading performance”, “guaranteed income” or “secure investment” will attract particular scrutiny, especially if they are not supported by objective data or are inherently inaccurate for the product type.

4. Weak Internal Approval Processes

Firms sometimes lack a robust sign-off workflow for marketing material, especially for fast-moving digital and social campaigns. Outcomes-based supervision expects clear roles, record-keeping and the ability to evidence why a communication was considered compliant at the time it was issued.

Digital Channels: Social Media, Influencers and Online Ads

The 2025 supervisory cycle almost certainly placed extra attention on digital marketing. Online channels enable rapid dissemination, cross-border reach, and a high likelihood of promotions being seen by unintended audiences.

Key watchpoints for regulated entities include:

• Short-form content: Character-limited posts (e.g. on social media) can still be financial promotions. Firms must ensure that they remain balanced and not misleading.
• Use of influencers or affiliates: If a third party is effectively promoting a regulated product, the licensed firm may be responsible for the content and must apply oversight.
• Retargeting and lookalike audiences: Advanced targeting tools must be tuned to avoid exposing inappropriate products to broad or vulnerable audiences.

Strengthening Marketing Governance: A Practical Framework

To align with outcomes-based supervision, firms should view marketing as a controlled process, not just a creative exercise. A practical governance framework often includes:

1. Clear policy: A written marketing and financial promotions policy, aligned with MFSA requirements and relevant EU rules.
2. Defined roles: Named individuals in Compliance, Legal, and Marketing with explicit approval responsibilities.
3. Pre-approval workflows: Standard paths and checklists for reviewing campaigns before launch, including for digital and real-time content.
4. Training: Regular training for marketing, distribution, and product teams on regulatory expectations and recent findings.
5. Post-launch monitoring: Sampling, testing and, where possible, data-driven analysis of how campaigns perform and whom they reach.
6. Audit trail: Documented evidence of decisions, rationales and any remedial actions taken.

Product Complexity and Suitability in Promotions

Outcomes-based supervision is especially demanding when it comes to complex or high-risk products, such as leveraged instruments, illiquid investments, or niche lending structures. Here, the quality of the marketing message can significantly influence mis-selling risks.

Layered Disclosure and Plain Language

For intricate products, firms should consider layered disclosure: a concise, plain-language summary supported by more detailed information for those who wish to dig deeper. The summary itself, however, must remain balanced and not simply serve as an attention-grabbing hook.

Warnings and Prominence

Regulators typically expect that key warnings about capital loss, volatility, and liquidity are unavoidable in the main body of the communication. Burying such warnings in footers or behind links is not consistent with the outcomes-based approach.

Monitoring, Testing and Evidence of Good Outcomes

One of the most challenging aspects of outcomes-based supervision is proving that your marketing practices actually contribute to good consumer outcomes. Firms can move beyond reactive compliance by embedding structured monitoring.

• Complaint analysis: Track complaints and queries that reference advertising or sales materials to see where messages may be confusing.
• Conversion quality: Look at the profile and behaviour of customers acquired through specific campaigns to identify misalignment with the intended target market.
• Periodic reviews: Schedule formal reviews of key campaigns, especially evergreen online content, to ensure they remain accurate and appropriate.

Aligning with the MFSA’s Supervisory Culture

The MFSA’s 2025 Outcomes-Based Supervision review sends a wider message about supervisory culture in Malta. Firms that treat marketing as a strategic risk area, rather than a peripheral activity, are more likely to meet expectations and avoid regulatory intervention.

Practical alignment involves:

• Engaging early with supervisory feedback, thematic reviews and circulars.
• Embedding consumer outcome thinking into product design, distribution and marketing from the outset.
• Ensuring senior management and boards can clearly articulate how marketing oversight works in practice.

Preparing for Future Thematic Reviews and Inspections

Looking ahead, firms in Malta should assume that marketing and financial promotions will remain a standing item on the supervisory agenda. Inspections, information requests and thematic exercises may increasingly reference prior findings from the 2025 review.

To be inspection-ready, regulated entities can:

• Maintain an up-to-date inventory of all promotional channels and major campaigns.
• Be able to quickly produce sample materials, approval records and evidence of oversight.
• Demonstrate how issues identified in past reviews have been remediated and what has changed since.

Final Thoughts

The MFSA’s focus on marketing within its 2025 Outcomes-Based Supervision review underscores how critical communications are to consumer protection. For regulated firms, this is less about perfecting disclaimer language and more about embedding fairness, clarity and accountability into every stage of the marketing lifecycle. Those who invest in strong governance, data-driven monitoring and a culture that prioritises genuine customer understanding will be best placed to navigate the evolving supervisory landscape in Malta and beyond.

Editorial note: This article provides a general discussion of themes around MFSA marketing compliance and outcomes-based supervision. For official details, refer to the Malta Financial Services Authority and the original coverage at MaltaToday.