The U.K.’s key financial regulators have pared down the compliance requirements that hold senior managers accountable as part of the government’s drive to reduce undue regulation by half and boost investment.
FCA
Lloyds IT glitch: Key lessons for compliance
IT outages seem to be increasingly prevalent in the financial services sector, despite a firmer focus on technical resilience by regulators both in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the European Union (EU). A recent tech glitch that hit a major U.K. bank should compel compliance teams in the sector to review their IT security and incident reporting at the very least, say experts.
U.K. Targeted Support narrows advice-guidance gap, raises compliance stakes
The U.K.’s Targeted Support Scheme, intended to provide millions of people with a newly created category of affordable regulated financial advice, went live on April 1. The U.K. government billed the scheme as a “once in a generation” change that will help millions to navigate their financial lives more effectively.
FCA joins police, HMRC to carry out first crackdown on illegal crypto trading
The U.K.’s financial services regulator has raided eight addresses in London as part of an operation working with police and tax authorities to disrupt illicit crypto activity and prevent possible financial crime risks.
U.K. joins global trend for AI-enabled regulatory supervision
The U.K. financial regulator is expanding its remit and planning to deploy AI to manage its increased workload. This is part of a global trend and has significant compliance implications.
FCA sets out plans for industry to compensate 12.1 million for car finance scandal
Over 12 million customers are eligible for compensation after being ripped off by car finance firms that racked up fees by arranging inflated interest rates for loan repayments and denied people the chance to seek better deals.
First case of its kind, DOJ hits IBM with false claims for diversity practices
In the first case of its kind, IBM has agreed to pay the federal government $17 million to settle allegations the company violated the False Claims Act by applying diversity hiring policies in federal contracts.
U.K. financial regulator and Ombudsman set out modernization plan for consumer redress
Changes to the U.K.’s Financial Ombudsman Service, which enables consumers to pursue financial services firms for compensation for unfair treatment, will place greater weight on firms’ compliance. The changes have been prompted in part by the scandal surrounding poor-value car loans provided via dealers.
EU and U.K. asset managers must adapt for T+1 settlement now to start testing in 2027
On Oct. 11, 2027, the EU, U.K., and Switzerland will move to T+1 securities settlement. The date may seem distant, but the challenges are considerable.
How to prepare for U.K. sustainability reporting rules
The U.K.’s plans to revise how companies report more meaningfully on the impact their operations have on the environment will mean organizations will have to dig for better data to satisfy regulators—even if they decide that compliance with the proposed rules is not appropriate for them under the option of “comply or explain.”


