If financial services firms don’t want more AI rules, comply with existing regs, experts warn

The U.K.’s financial regulators have long maintained that AI use by banks, insurers, and other financial services firms is already regulated under existing rules, but such assurances are increasingly being questioned after U.K. lawmakers raised concerns that there were potentially serious gaps in supervision and that new rules may be necessary. 

In January, Members of Parliament (MPs) on the Treasury Select Committee said that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England, as well as HM Treasury, had adopted a “wait and see” approach with regard to overseeing the sector’s use of AI and that further guidance appeared way off. MPs also questioned whether new rules were necessary if existing regulations were unclear or were not comprehensive, especially as the potential for AI misuse to harm both consumers and the financial system itself is so great.