The Financial Conduct Authority Chief Executive has published a speech this week titled “A reform-minded regulator”, setting out how it intends to adapt to a faster-moving market environment. The direction of travel is clear. The FCA is positioning itself to be more responsive, more flexible, and more aligned with UK growth while maintaining high standards. Key themes from the speech: Regulation must evolve alongside faster, more volatile markets A stronger focus on supportin

FCA Launches Mills Review on AI Future On 27 January 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched the Mills Review to explore the long-term impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on UK retail financial services, inviting industry and stakeholder input on how AI could reshape the sector by 2030 and beyond. The review, led by Sheldon Mills, seeks feedback across four key themes: Future evolution of AI technology – including autonomous, agentic and multimodal AI systems,

The FCA h as announced a major simplification of the complaints reporting process for regulated firms. From 2025, firms will no longer need to submit detailed twice-yearly complaint returns. Instead, the FCA will use smarter data collection and risk-based oversight to reduce the reporting burden—particularly for smaller firms—while still maintaining strong consumer protection standards. This is part of the FCA’s wider move to streamline regulatory processes, remove unnecessa

FCA extends car finance compensation plan as lenders push back The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a consultation on an industry-wide compensation scheme for motor-finance customers who may have been mis-sold deals between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024. Key points: The issue centres on hidden or undisclosed commissions (including discretionary commission arrangements) that may have inflated costs for borrowers. Around 14.2 million agreements — roughly 44% of

AI Growth, Human Cuts: What Big Tech’s Job Losses Signal for Financial Services Big tech is doubling down on AI—but not necessarily on people. IBM, despite beating expectations on revenue and profit, announced cuts to its global workforce as it pivots toward high-margin software and AI-driven growth. Similarly, Salesforce and Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) have cut hundreds of UK jobs even though their profits have soared—reflecting the collision between “AI obsession

The FCA has launched a new & improved Handbook website Published: 4 July 2025 (beta now live) Full details: https://www.fca.org.uk/news...

A decade ago, Companies House made its full register freely accessible online. Today, it handles over 16.5 billion searches a year — a...