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

The FCA’s latest thematic review highlights major shortcomings in how UK firms assess financial-crime risk. Many Business-Wide Risk Assessments (BWRA) and Customer Risk Assessments (CRA) are still too generic, poorly evidenced, or disconnected from real-world controls. Key gaps identified include:  • Risk assessments not tailored to the firm’s actual products, customers or exposure.  • Weak links between BWRA findings and monitoring/testing.  • Senior management focusing heav

FCA permissions show sharp drop in consumer credit roles — Q2 2025 highlights Recent analysis of FCA permissions data reveals a notable...