UK regulators have not yet fully exercised the breadth of their powers to address shortcomings in organisational cyber‑security measures—but that restraint is unlikely to continue. The policy statements published on 18 March...more
4/13/2026
/ Bank of England ,
Cybersecurity ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HM Treasury ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Third-Party Risk ,
UK ,
UK GDPR
The FCA has released new guidance to help cryptoasset firms prepare for the UK’s incoming regulatory framework - another step in the FCA Crypto Roadmap and a major marker on the path to full crypto regulation....more
2/12/2026
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
HM Treasury ,
New Guidance ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Stablecoins ,
UK
The FCA’s launch of its inaugural Enforcement Watch newsletter provides fresh visibility into the regulator’s enforcement caseload, priorities and approach. Coupled with the High Court’s recent two-part judgment endorsing the...more
2/6/2026
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Cryptoassets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Fraud ,
Government Investigations ,
Investigations ,
Market Abuse ,
Payment Systems ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Transparency ,
UK
Financial services sit at the heart of the UK government’s modern Industrial Strategy. Designated as one of eight “growth-driving sectors”, it is expected to play a central role in supporting economic growth – yet it faces...more
1/29/2026
/ Cryptoassets ,
Economic Growth ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Open Banking ,
Packaged Retail And Insurance-Based Investment Products (PRIIPS) ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
RegTech ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retail Investors ,
Risk Management ,
SMCR ,
UCITS ,
UK
As 2026 approaches, the UK financial services sector stands at a pivotal moment in its AI journey. What began as cautious pilots has matured into widespread deployment, prompting regulators to sharpen their focus on...more
12/19/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bank of England ,
Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fraud ,
Information Governance ,
Know Your Customers ,
Machine Learning ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Scams ,
UK
On 3 December 2025, the PRA published Policy Statement 25/25 (PS25/25), finalising proposals from CP10/25 and introducing Supervisory Statement 4/25 (SS4/25). This replaces SS3/19 and sets out updated expectations on how...more
12/5/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Insurance Industry ,
International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) ,
Policy Statement ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
UK
The High Court’s recent judgment in R (CIT) v FCA [2025] EWHC 2614 (Admin) provides critical clarity on the FCA’s powers to name firms under investigation. ...more
11/5/2025
/ Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investigations ,
Judicial Review ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Reputation Management ,
Reputational Injury ,
Risk Management ,
UK
We love a “to do” list! So, following a flurry of announcements from the FCA and publication of the Treasury’s Action Plan aimed at overhauling the current regulatory landscape, what is on the financial regulators’ “to do”...more
In November 2024, the FCA published its further consultation with its revised proposals to make early announcements of open enforcement investigations (“CP 24/2, Part 2”). BCLP was one of the many respondents to raise strong...more
After a flurry of AI-related papers from the previous UK Conservative government and regulators in 2023 and the first half of 2024 (and the establishment of the UK’s AI Safety Institute and the AI Policy Directorate),...more
As financial crime risks evolve, including those risks posed by the use of AI and other emerging technologies, so too must firms’ financial crime compliance response. It is unsurprising, therefore, that AI forms part of both...more
1/31/2025
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Machine Learning ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Third-Party ,
UK
The 2024 CrowdStrike outage and the ransomware attack on NHS partner Synnovis hit mainstream news and highlighted the fragility of ICT supply chains and the risks posed by cyber incidents....more
1/31/2025
/ Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management ,
Risk Mitigation ,
UK
The FCA has today published a further consultation paper (CP24/2 (Part 2)) in relation to its ‘naming and shaming’ proposals (the “Updated Consultation”). The publication follows widespread industry criticism of the FCA’s...more
Yesterday the PRA and FCA published PRA consultation paper 16/24 / FCA consultation paper 24/23 – Remuneration reform, containing proposals for significant changes to the remuneration regime.
The UK’s current remuneration...more
The FCA, PRA, and Bank of England have published their finalised critical third party (CTP) rules (and accompanying guidance) in PS24/16 Operational resilience: Critical third parties to the UK financial sector....more
11/25/2024
/ Bank of England ,
Compliance ,
Consultation ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HM Treasury ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector ,
Third-Party ,
Third-Party Risk ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
UK
The recent decision by the Court of Appeal in FCA v BlueCrest Capital Management [2024] EWCA Civ 1125 reverses the Upper Tribunal’s decision in BlueCrest Capital Management (UK) LLP v FCA [2023] UKUT 00140 (TCC) (which we...more
The controversial new requirement for all in-scope Payment Service Providers (“PSPs”) to reimburse victims of Authorised Push Payment (“APP”) fraud are due to be introduced from 7 October 2024. This is a significant change...more
8/21/2024
/ Compliance ,
Crime Victims ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fraud ,
HM Treasury ,
New Rules ,
Payment Systems ,
Reimbursements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
UK ,
UK Payment Systems Regulator
On the 7 August 2024, the FCA issued its Final Notice to the asset manager H2O AM LLP (“H2O”), in the context of which H2O agreed to pay €250 million to investors who have been unable to access their funds since 2020. In the...more
Last week the FCA issued three announcements concerning its approach to the digital future of financial services in the UK. Amongst these was the FCA’s AI Update, their response to the government’s recent AI consultation...more
5/3/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bank of England ,
Consultation ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Standards ,
UK ,
White Papers
We strongly disagree with the FCA’s proposals, set out in CP24/2, to announce that it has opened enforcement investigations into firms where it considers this to be in the public interest. We set out our objections in detail...more
The Prudential Regulation Authority (“PRA”) has kicked-off 2024 by crystallising its new approach to enforcement. The key change is the introduction of the Early Account Scheme (“EAS”), which provides a mechanism for the...more
The FCA released its 2022/23 Annual Report last week together with data on its key enforcement trends. We consider below some of the key takeaways....more
7/28/2023
/ Annual Reports ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Statistics ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fraud ,
Investigations ,
UK
Yesterday the FCA published its eagerly-awaited Business Plan for 2021/22 (the “Plan”), its publication having been delayed from April due to the pandemic and it being Nikhil Rathi’s first business plan since he was appointed...more
Yesterday’s joint Discussion Paper (DP21/2) published by the Bank of England, Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA, together “the regulators”) on “Diversity and inclusion in the financial...more
7/8/2021
/ Bank of England ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
CRD V ,
Discussion Draft ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Remuneration ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Senior Management Regime (SMR) ,
Senior Managers ,
UK
On 14 May 2021, the FCA published Consultation Paper CP21/13 outlining much-anticipated proposals relating to the standards expected of regulated firms to ensure the protection of retail consumers. The Consultation Paper...more