FIN.

Category - Fintech & Innovation

FCA publishes AI sprint summary

The FCA has published a summary of the AI sprint it held in January, which had 115 participants. 4 common themes came out of the event: that firms need clarity from the FCA on how regulatory frameworks apply to AI; the...

FPC looks at role and risks of AI

As part of its “Financial Stability in Focus” work, the FPC has published a paper looking at how the rapid pace of development in firms’ use of AI can cause uncertainties and how these may translate...

FCA publishes work programme 2025-6

The FCA has published its work programme for 2025-26, which builds on the 4 priority areas in its 5 year plan. Specific initiatives additional to those set out in the 5 year plan (which we summarised in this article)...

FCA publishes 5 year strategy

The FCA has launched its much-trailed 5 year strategy. It will focus on 4 priorities: being a smarter regulator; supporting sustained economic growth; helping consumers to navigate their financial lives; and fighting...

Chancellor to streamline fintech regulation

The Chancellor has hosted senior representatives from the fintech sector to discuss new draft legislation which will streamline how the area is regulated. The new legislation will reform the framework under MiFID...

Chancellor unveils more red tape cutting

The Chancellor has unveiled more detail of the plans to cut the administrative cost of regulation on business, at a meeting attended by, among others, the PRA, FCA and ICO. The plans are wide ranging across all areas of...

Wolfsberg Group publishes digital asset FAQs

The Wolfsberg Group has published a set of FAQs on how members conceive of and conceptualise key terms associated with digital assets. It says the guide will be a reference point for its future work on the risks of and...

FCA updates crypto-registration stats

The FCA received 2 new applications from crypto firms for registration under the MLRs in the past month.  It also registered one firm, bringing the total registered since January 2020 to 50 – still only 14% of...

UK Finance publishes generative AI use report

UK Finance and Accenture have published a report on how financial services firms are using generative AI. The report finds that the sector is investing more in AI, and that generative AI is driving the most value in:...

Government responds on governance of AI

The Government response to recommendations of a commons committee on governance of AI agrees that AI-specific legislation is needed and that it will consult on legislation that will apply to the still small number of...

BoE updates on digital pound

The BoE has published a report setting out the work it has done in the last year on the digital pound and the evolving payments landscape. The regulator has been working with HMT to explore the possibility of a digital...

FCA updates perimeter report

The FCA has updated its Perimeter Report. The report highlights the FCA’s remit and powers, including the new Designated Activities Regime, and then lists the key areas of harm linked to the perimeter and some key...

FCA updates on crypto regulation approach

The FCA has updated on its approach to crypto regulation in the UK, including an indicative roadmap of key dates and a series of focused consultations. Recent research from the FCA found that approximately 1/3 of people...

FCA publishes research on crypto ownership

The latest FCA research on consumer attitudes and behaviours toward cryptoassets, 12% of UK adults now own crypto, up from 10% in previous findings. Other key findings included: Awareness of crypto rose from 91 to 93%...

BoE and FCA report on AI in financial services

The BoE and FCA have published a report on their third survey of AI and machine learning in UK financial services. Use and adoption The regulators found that 75% of firms already use AI, with a further 10% planning to...

FCA reacts to Mansion House speech

The FCA has reacted to several announcements from the Mansion House speech. It has reiterated that it is committed to supporting growth and says it has fully embraced its secondary international competitiveness and...

BoE speaks on AI and financial stability

Sarah Breedon spoke at a conference on the opportunities and challenges of emerging technologies in the financial ecosytem. She delved into the novel features of Generative AI and what it might mean for financial...

FCA celebrates 10 years of innovation

Jessica Ruso has spoken at the FCA Innovation 10th anniversary event, looking back at the FCA’s innovative initiatives over the past 10 years and forward to the future. The event marks 10 years of the regulatory...

FCA reports on secondary objective progress

The FCA has published the required metrics on the success of its secondary international competitiveness and growth objective. It has split the metrics into the themes of: authorisations and operational efficiency:...

Conservative manifesto highlights fintechs

The Conservative Manifesto, published on 11 June, contains few surprises for financial regulation. It priorities: building on the various co-operation agreements it has already signed, including with the EU and...

FCA speaks on investment management

Nikhil Rathi has spoken on the importance of the UK keeping its leading position in global asset management. He discussed current international initiatives such as: liquidity risk management, particularly for open ended...

July 4 Election: effect on current Bills?

A general election has been called for 4 July 2024.  Parliament (including the House of Lords) will be dissolved on 30 May 2024.  We are now therefore in the ‘wash-up’ period which will last for only 2 days...

BoE publishes digital pound proof of concept

The BoE is currently conducting experiments and proofs of concept as part of the design phase towards a possible digital pound. It has looked at the technical feasibility of using existing POS hardware to initiate...

BoE looks at AI and financial stability

Jonathan Hall of the FPC has spoken on whether increasing use of AI models could have a negative impact on financial stability. He sees two key risks: that deep trading agents could lead to a brittle and highly...

BoE/PRA update on AI approach

The BoE and the PRA have responded to requests for an update on the strategic approach they are taking to AI. The response notes that AI and Machine Learning is already in quite wide use in many parts of the financial...

FCA updates perimeter report

The FCA has updated its Perimeter Report on its website.  It was last updated in March 2023. Among the issues discussed are: FCA’s general approach to the perimeter; when it will take action against unauthorised...

FCA updates social media guidance

The FCA has published its updated guidance on social media advertising.  The guidance applies equally to firms and promotors, including influencers. It does not contain any new obligations, but is a reminder of...

FCA publishes Business Plan 2024/2025

The FCA’s 2024/25 Business Plan highlights the work carried out to date, and what it plans to do in the coming year, the final year of its 3 year strategy. The strategy continues a focus on delivery of the...

ABI publishes guide on using AI responsibly

The ABI has published a guide on the responsible use of AI which sets out how firms in the insurance sector can put the Government’s five principles of AI into practice. As a reminder, these are accountability...

Government defends Edinburgh Reform progress

The Government has responded to criticism from the Treasury Committee on how the Edinburgh Reforms are progressing. Following the Government’s report in December (a year after it announced the reforms) that it had...

UK Finance responds on stablecoins

UK Finance has responded to the FCA and BoE discussion papers on regulating stablecoins. It is generally supportive of the broad proposal to build upon the existing regulatory/legislative regime for stablecoins used for...

BoE extends stablecoin consultation deadline

The BoE is keen to receive a wide range of feedback in response to its discussion paper on regulating stablecoins. It has therefore extended the consultation period which will now close at 10am on 12 February 2024. As a...

FCA publishes blockchain research

FCA has published a research note entitled ‘Review of Maximal Extractable value (MEV) and Blockchain Oracles’ in collaboration with Futuresight Business Intelligence Ltd, the Financial Industry Regulatory...

FCA reflects on 2023

Nikhil Rathi has reflected on some of FCA’s key achievements and milestones from 2023. He highlighted: the implementation of the Consumer Duty and changes firms have already made as a result; FCA telling GAP...

IAIS updates on AI work

IAIS has issued an update on its work on the adoption of AI and machine learning in the insurance sector. It has reviewed guidance from 12 international supervisors and organisations. Among its conclusions are that the...

TWG publishes report on fund tokenisation

The Technology Working Group (TWG), which is the City Minister’s forum for examining the impact of technology on the UK’s investment and asset management sectors, has published its first report. TWG worked...

UK and Japan discuss cooperation

The 2nd Financial Regulatory Forum (FRF) and the 5th Financial Dialogue (FD) between Japan and the UK was held on 27 November 2023 and a joint statement summarised the key discussion points. Overall, both countries hope...

FCA publishes crypto marketing guidance

FCA has published guidance it hopes will support firms complying with the new rules on crypto promotions. It is aimed both at registered crypto firms making promotions and at authorised forms who are communicating or...

Regulators feed back on AI

PRA and FCA have published a feedback statement following their and BoE’s discussion paper on AI and machine learning. The paper asked for views on the role supervisors should play in supporting the safe and...

JROC welcomes OBL data collection frameworks

The Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee has welcomed the publication of two data collection frameworks by Open Banking Limited, one on levelling up availability and performance and the other on mitigating the risks of...

FCA speaks on AI risks and opportunities

Jessica Rusu, FCA Chief Data, Information and Intelligence Officer, has spoken at the City and Financial Global AI Regulation Summit on the risks and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence (“AI“)...

FCA speaks on financial inclusion

Nikhil Rathi has spoken on how FCA is looking for solutions to tackle financial exclusion, but that it needs help from industry and technology to do so.  He explained that FCA does not have the remit or powers to tackle...

UK Finance respond to ban on cold calling

UK Finance has responded to HM Treasury’s proposals to ban cold calling in financial services and is supportive of the proposals. The measures aim to protect consumers, particularly elderly and vulnerable...

FCA and CoLC launch APP scam project tool

FCA and the City of London Corporation have launched the promised APP synthetic dataset which is designed to develop products and services to minimise fraud. The dataset will allow analysis of rare patterns of behaviour...

FCA speaks on international collaboration

Ashley Alder has spoken on the importance of collaboration in international financial services. He touched on the UK-EU MoU and current IOSCO initiatives. He spoke of global initiatives such as climate and...

FCA reminds firms of incoming crypto rules

FCA has set out its expectations in advance of the rules on advertising of crypto products coming into force on 8 October. The rules are specifically designed to make marketing clearer and more accurate and to ban...