U.K. regulator the Financial Services Authority has launched a crackdown on companies that leak price-sensitive information to journalists. The move follows the regulator’s concern that an increasing number of senior corporate executives has been strategically leaking information.

A new paper sets out strict policies that companies and their advisers are expected to follow when dealing with questions from the media. The paper also warns companies that they could be committing market abuse even if they just confirm information that a journalist has obtained elsewhere.

The policies are directly aimed at regulated financial firms that advise companies on corporate transactions and securities law, but the regulator said their listed corporate clients should follow them too. Companies need a “much stricter culture that firmly and actively discourages leaks,” the FSA said.

The FSA said if it didn't seen an improvement, it would turn the policies, which have the formal status of "Recommendations" into enforceable "Rules," with penalties for non-compliance.

A central aim of the new policies is to stop executives talking directly to the media and require compliance staff to get more involved in media relations decisions.

The regulator said most advisory firms had “unwritten informal exemptions” to their general confidentiality rules that allowed staff to talk to the media without press office approval. “These unwritten exemptions effectively gave a blanket permission to senior staff to speak to the media.” All employees—from the chief executive down—should be banned from talking to journalists, unless a press officer is involved, the FSA says.

If the press office does decide that an executive can talk to a journalist about information that might be price sensitive, they can only do so when a press officer is present to take notes. If the interview is over the phone, the call has to be recorded, the regulator said. Any e-mails that an executive sends to a journalist should be copied to the press office.