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,

FCA Modernises Authorisation Amid Growth Push The Financial Conduct Authority is modernising its authorisation process to better support innovation and growth across UK financial services, while maintaining robust regulatory standards. Speaking at its “Gateway to Growth” event, the FCA highlighted a clear shift in tone: authorisation should be seen as an enabler of growth, not just a regulatory hurdle. Key developments include: Faster and more predictable authorisation timeli

FCA launches long-term review into AI and retail financial services The FCA has announced a forward-looking review into how artificial intelligence could reshape retail financial services over the next decade. The review will examine how rapidly advancing AI capabilities may affect consumer behaviour, market dynamics, competition, and the way firms design, distribute and monitor financial products. Importantly, the FCA has been clear that there is no immediate change to regul

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a pioneering “AI Live Testing” initiative — the first of its kind in the UK financial sector — giving select major firms a controlled environment to trial and refine responsible AI tools for real-world deployment.   The goal: help firms navigate evaluation frameworks, ongoing monitoring, governance and risk management — enabling use cases such as debt-resolution, financial advice, customer engagement, complaints handling and