Speech by Sheree Howard at the APCC Spring Conference 2026. This weekend, tens of thousands of runners will line up in Greenwich Park for the start of the London Marathon.Well done to them – a Netflix marathon is much more my speed.Unlike what’s needed to prepare for a Netflix marathon – opening a bag of sweet and salty popcorn – Sunday’s runners will have been training for months. Many even years.And nearly all will have had support along the way, whether from a coach, physio or friend at a parkrun.What strikes me about that relationship is where the responsibility sits.A coach designs the programme, corrects the technique and knows how to get a runner to the start line in the best possible shape.But they’re not the ones lacing up their trainers. The runner is.Getting authorised is more like a marathon than it might seem.Filled with documents, deadlines and – let’s be honest – a fair amount of adrenaline, it can feel like that final sprint down the Mall for many firms as they reach the end.And you are their support system, helping them get authorisation-ready.That preparation genuinely matters.Because gaining the right to be a regulated financial services firm isn’t easy.Nor should it be.

The FCA has carried out its first operation with partners to disrupt illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading across multiple London locations. Working with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU), the FCA targeted 8 premises suspected of illegal peer-to-peer crypto trading. The FCA issued cease and desist letters at each site, notifying traders to stop illegal activity immediately. Evidence obtained during the on-site inspections is supporting a number of ongoing criminal investigations.Peer-to-peer trading is when individuals buy and sell crypto directly with each other, rather than using a centralised exchange and requires appropriate registration. There are currently no FCA registered peer-to-peer crypto traders or platforms operating in the UK.Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: 'Unregistered peer-to-peer crypto traders operating in the UK are doing so illegally and pose a financial crime risk. We will use our powers and work with partners to disrupt them.'Consumers should protect themselves by only dealing with firms registered with the FCA and by remembering that crypto remains a high risk investment.'DI Ross Flay of SWROCU said: 'By working with our colleagues at the FCA and HMRC we are able to effectively target and disrupt unregistered peer-to-peer crypto traders operating illegally. As law enforcement, we want to stop these traders providing a route for criminals to move, disguise and spend illegal money.'The FCA has previously taken action against unregistered cryptoasset activity in the UK, including prosecuting an individual operating an illegal network of crypto ATMs. In June 2024, the FCA worked with the Metropolitan Police Service to arrest 2 individuals suspected of running an illegal cryptoasset exchange.The Government’s National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing outlines how cryptoassets are increasingly used to launder the proceeds of crime. The FCA continues to work with domestic and international partners to fight financial crime and protect consumers.Consumers can check whether a crypto firm is correctly registered with the FCA using the FCA’s Firm Checker.Notes to editorsAction was taken under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017.Crypto is a high-risk investment and remains largely unregulated in the UK, except for anti-money laundering and financial promotion.Use the FCA’s Firm Checker to check a firm’s permissions.The FCA enables a fair and thriving financial services market for the good of consumers and the economy. Find out more about the FCA.

Firms willbenefitfromreduced costs andgreater flexibility, andfind it easier tocomply with the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR),following reformsset outon 22 April by theFCA and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). The changes, which come as the first phase of a multi-stage package of reform from the Government and regulators, will maintain the core principle of senior leader accountability, and will benefit firms by:Giving more time to submit senior manager applications when there has been an unexpected or temporary change.Removing the need to certify people to hold multiple overlapping functions, which will reduce the total number of certification roles required by around 15%.Helping to streamline annual checks to certify individuals as ‘fit and proper’.Making only larger, more complex firms meet enhanced standards, by raising many of the enhanced firm thresholds by 30%.Helping to better understand the definition of certain senior management roles.Allowing more time to report updates to senior manager responsibilities.Increasing how long criminal record checks for senior manager applications are valid for, prior to application submission.Giving more time to update the directory, which lists certified staff.The Government’s further changes to the regime, published in its consultation response on 22 April, follow its consultation in 2025. Proposals include removing the Certification Regime, which applies to less senior roles, from legislation. The Government also proposes giving more flexibility to the regulators to further reduce the number of senior management functions (SMFs) which require pre-approval.The regulators plan to consult on wider changes, taking advantage of any increased legislative freedom later in 2026, as part of the Leeds reforms to halve the SM&CR’s regulatory burden on firms.Lucy Rigby, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said: 'The UK has some of the highest standards for financial sector governance in the world. They protect consumers, strengthen market integrity and are emulated internationally, helping make our financial services sector one of the great jewels in our economic crown.'We are committed to preserving those high standards – while making regulation simpler and easier to navigate. By working with regulators to streamline the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, we are cutting unnecessary complexity, halving the administrative burden, and building a simpler, faster and more competitive system.'Sarah Pritchard, deputy chief executive at the FCA, said: ‘These joint reforms will keep consumers and markets protected while making the regime more proportionate. We’ve also used our current powers to streamline the regime now, so firms can benefit before future legislation unlocks even more efficiencies.'David Bailey, executive director for prudential policy at the PRA, said: ‘The SM&CR plays an important role in ensuring accountability in the provision of financial services, but it is right that we work to ensure it is well-targeted and efficient. Today’s reforms are an important first step in allowing firms to focus on what matters most, and we will continue to deliver further improvements to the regime as part of the wider reforms being made by the Government.’The announcement builds on work already done to speed up SM&CR approvals:The FCA’s most recent published quarterly metrics show 99.7% of applications were determined within the current 3-month statutory deadline, with 94.7% determined within the Government's proposed new 2-month statutory deadline.The PRA’s most recent quarterly metrics show 100% of applications were determined within the current 3-month statutory deadline, with 98% determined within the Government's proposed new 2-month statutory deadline.Notes to editorsThe SM&CR ensures accountability among senior managers within financial services firms and maintains standards of behaviour and competence across the board.Read the FCA’s Policy Statement, PS26/6: ‘Senior Managers and Certification Regime review’. Read the PRA’s Policy Statement, PS12/26: Senior Managers & Certification Regime review.The Treasury has also published a consultation response to support a further phase in which the regulators would be able to make additional changes if legislation is made. This includes developing a more proportionate replacement for the Certification Regime and significantly reducing the number of roles requiring regulatory pre-approval. Read the Treasury’s consultation response.Firms now have up to 12 weeks to submit a senior manager application, rather than needing FCA approval within that period.The Certification Regime is part of SM&CR that applies to staff who are not senior managers, but whose roles could still cause significant harm to consumers or markets – known as Certified Individuals.In December 2022, the Government announced, as part of the Edinburgh Reforms, that the Treasury, FCA and PRA would begin reviews of the SM&CR. In March 2023, the FCA published a Discussion Paper with the PRA, inviting views on the regime’s effectiveness, scope and proportionality, and on potential improvements that could be made. The Treasury launched a Call for Evidence on the regime alongside this.In July 2025, the regulators published phase 1 proposals to reform the SM&CR. To help accelerate through phase 2, the FCA also sought views on potential changes for phase 2 – as well as inviting any other ideas of reducing burden while maintaining the benefits of the SM&CR.See the FCA’s latest authorisation operating metrics (Q3 2025/26) and the PRA’s authorisations performance report (Q4 2025/26).Enhanced scope SM&CR firms are the largest and most complex firms. The financial thresholds for becoming an Enhanced SM&CR firm are being updated for inflation since their introduction in 2019, by 30%.

Speaking at UK FinTech Week, Jessica Rusu, chief data, information and intelligence officer at the FCA, has confirmed the second group of firms selected to join AI Live Testing. Eight new firms, including Barclays, Experian, Lloyds Banking Group (Scottish Widows), and UBS, have been chosen by the FCA to live test AI applications to support safe and responsible deployment.The FCA is working with its technical partner Advai, a London-based specialist in automated AI assurance, to provide AI Live Testing. This initiative helps successful applicants explore key questions around risk management and live monitoring to support the responsible deployment of AI for consumers and markets.Applications reflect the fast-evolving nature of the technology, with a diverse range of AI models underpinning use cases – from agentic AI and small language models to emerging solutions such as neurosymbolic AI. Firms in the second group are testing both customer-facing and business‑to‑business use cases, including AI-enabled targeted support for investments, credit score insights for consumers, agentic payments, anti-money laundering detection, and Know Your Customer.'We’re continuing to collaborate with firms to support the safe and responsible development of AI in UK financial markets,' said Jessica Rusu, chief data, information and intelligence officer at the FCA. 'With tailored support from the FCA and Advai, the initiative reflects our commitment to supporting the pace of change in AI, whilst demonstrating how regulators and industry can work together to harness innovation responsibly.'The FCA will also publish a good and poor practice report for AI in financial services later in 2026 to support firms in the safe and responsible adoption of the developing technology.The announcement coincides with the publication of the FCA’s Innovation Insights report, which highlights how fintech innovation is evolving in the UK and what the regulator is learning from firms engaging with its innovation services.The FCA’s Regulatory Sandbox and Innovation Pathways saw a 49% increase in applications on the previous year.The report also shows that fintech market activity closely matches demand for the FCA's innovation services, particularly in fast-growing areas like AI.Applications for the AI Live Testing second cohort opened in January 2026, with firms beginning testing in April. Testing will conclude by the end of the year, with an evaluation report published in Q1 2027.Notes to editorsThe full list of firms in the second cohort are as follows: Aereve, Coadjute, Barclays, Experian, Go-Cardless, Lloyds Banking Group (Scottish Widows), UBS and Palindrome.In September 2025, the FCA published a Feedback Statement on the potential benefits, opportunities and challenges raised by our proposal for AI Live Testing.The FCA set out how we are working to accelerate digital innovation in our response to the Prime Minister’s letter (PDF), including that we would avoid additional regulations for AI by relying on existing frameworks.Read more about how FCA rules apply to AI.Read Jessica Rusu's speech at UK FinTech Week.In January, the FCA launched a review led by Sheldon Mills into the implications of advanced AI on consumers, retail financial markets and regulators.Advai is a UK-based AI company specialising in automated testing, evaluation and assurance of AI systems, providing independent technical evidence so organisations can deploy AI safely and confidently at scale.Firms in the first group included: Gain Credit, Homeprotect, part of the Avantia Group, NatWest, Monzo, Santander, Scottish Widows, part of Lloyds Banking Group and Snorkl.The Innovation Insights report aims to support earlier regulatory engagement and strengthen evidence‑led policy and supervision under the FCA’s Strategy 2025–2030.

Speech by Jessica Rusu, FCA chief data, information and intelligence officer at IFGS. Key pointsAgentic commerce will change how financial decisions and transactions are made, demanding a fundamentally new approach.We are expanding practical support for firms through the next phase of our AI Lab.Open Finance will provide the foundations of a more intelligent financial system.We are supporting solo-regulated firms scale, with our Scale-Up unit open for expressions of interest.

Help shape financial regulation from the perspective of consumers. We are recruiting 2 new members to the Financial Services Consumer Panel, an independent statutory panel that represents the interests of consumers of financial services to the FCA.Panel members provide constructive challenge and expert advice to help ensure the consumer perspective is fully embedded in the FCA’s policy development and implementation. Members engage regularly with senior FCA colleagues, including the chair, chief executive and Executive Committee, and contribute across a wide range of current and emerging issues affecting consumers.We are looking for individuals with strong expertise and experience in areas such as consumer policy, behavioural insights, innovation and technology, fintech or digital markets, retail banking, investments and payments.We welcome applicants with a clear commitment to representing the interests of consumers from across society.The closing date for applications is 15 May 2026.Find out more and apply via the FCA Careers website.