LONDON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Britain's banks should notactively market hybrid debt known as contingent convertiblebonds or CoCos to the mass market from October 1, the UKFinancial Conduct Authority said on Tuesday.
Banks are under pressure from regulators to issue CoCo bondsto bolster their capital cushions.
"In a low interest rate environment many investors might betempted by CoCos offering high headline returns," ChristopherWoolard, FCA director of policy said in a statement.
"However, they are complex and can be highly risky, and theFCA has used its new powers to ensure that CoCos are notinappropriately made available to the mass retail market whilestill allowing access for experienced investors."
The FCA said the curb will last a year, during which it willdiscuss appropriate marketing terms with issuers.
(Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Matt Scuffham)