The U.K. financial regulator has warned firms that it wonโ€™t tolerate a โ€œslapdashโ€ approach to ethics and non-financial misconduct. The executive director of enforcement at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) promised that poor behavior will be punished, after disgraced hedge fund director Crispin Odey lost his appeal against a lifetime ban from working in the financial sector plus a ยฃ1.5 million ($2 million) fine.

Ruth Prickett graduated from Cambridge University with a BA hons in History and has specialized in business and finance journalism for the past 20 years. She was editor of Financial Management, the magazine...