The
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has just released its
new five-year strategy, and it sets a bold, forward-thinking agenda for the UK’s financial sector. Rather than simply tightening rules or reacting to emerging risks, the FCA is seeking to reshape its role,
from watchdog to enabler, from reactive to purposeful. The strategy is anchored in four interconnected ambitions: to deepen trust, rebalance risk, support growth, and improve lives.
At its core, the FCA wants to help build a more competitive, resilient, and inclusive financial ecosystem, one that remains globally respected while becoming more locally impactful. Trust remains the foundation, but the regulator recognises
that trust alone isn’t enough. For financial services to support the real economy and adapt to technological and demographic shifts, there must also be space for informed risk-taking, innovation, and long-term investment.
Over the past decade, UK financial services have faced a series of once-in-a-generation shocks, from Brexit to the pandemic and now a cost-of-living crisis. Resilience has been tested, but it has also improved. The sector employs over 1.1
million people directly and contributes more than £208 billion to the UK economy. Financial services are also the UK’s largest net exporter, with £91.8 billion in exports and a trade surplus of £73.2 billion. These figures underscore why a strong, well-regulated
sector matters, not just to investors and firms, but to every household, community, and public service across the UK.
The FCA’s first major priority is to become a smarter, more efficient regulator. That means streamlining how it supervises firms, making decisions faster, and investing in digital tools to improve regulatory outcomes.
It plans to digitise authorisations, simplify how firms interact with the regulator, and launch “My FCA”, a one-stop portal for managing regulatory obligations. In practice, this could significantly reduce the administrative burden on the 42,000 firms it regulates
and improve the overall experience of engagement. The regulator is also pledging to be more transparent and predictable, with a clear commitment to explain the rationale behind its decisions and publish regular reports that highlight both risks and opportunities
in the market. It’s also expanding its regional presence, having already doubled its Edinburgh workforce and opened a Leeds office, with plans to base over 1,000 staff outside London by 2030.
A second pillar of the strategy is supporting sustainable growth, particularly through innovation, improved access to capital, and modernisation of outdated rules. The FCA recognises that good regulation doesn’t
mean stepping aside, it means actively shaping the environment so that firms can compete, innovate, and serve evolving consumer needs. It has already launched long-term investment funds, capital markets reforms, and created the digital securities sandbox.
Over the next five years, the FCA aims to unlock new investment pathways, particularly in areas like pension reform, Open Finance, and tokenisation of assets. It will also take a more technology-positive approach, supporting firms that are testing AI, data-driven
services, and new business models, while maintaining strong standards for market conduct and consumer outcomes.
Helping consumers is the third major priority. The FCA is clear that too many people are still struggling with basic financial resilience. Over seven million UK adults report difficulties paying bills or managing
debt. In response, the regulator is doubling down on efforts to make financial services more inclusive, affordable, and understandable. Underpinning this is the
Consumer Duty, which sets a new bar for how firms must treat their customers. But the FCA is going further, reviewing mortgage affordability rules to help first-time buyers, encouraging better value in pensions and insurance, and developing
a new regime for personalised financial guidance. This is especially important for the growing number of consumers with modest investable assets, who may not access traditional financial advice but still need support to make sound decisions. The strategy aims
to improve access to key products such as pensions, day-to-day accounts, and savings tools, and to increase the number of consumers with the confidence and tools to invest in mainstream assets.
In parallel, the FCA continues to prioritise fighting financial crime. In the last two years, it has brought more criminal charges than ever before and dramatically improved the speed of enforcement investigations.
But financial crime remains complex and adaptive. The regulator is now investing in generative AI and advanced analytics to better detect suspicious patterns, particularly in market abuse and scams. It is also focused on disrupting firms that use FCA authorisation
as a smokescreen for fraudulent activity. The aim is not only to enforce rules but to empower firms to be the first line of defence, improving anti-financial crime controls while reducing the cost of compliance through smarter systems. The FCA is also stepping
up its consumer awareness efforts, providing real-time alerts and warnings to help people avoid scams.
What makes this strategy truly forward-looking is its emphasis on
collaboration and international engagement. The FCA acknowledges that it cannot achieve these ambitions in isolation. That’s why it is working closely with Government, industry groups, consumer advocates, and international counterparts. For
the first time, the FCA will establish a permanent presence in both the US and Asia-Pacific, a strategic move that reflects the UK’s global financial reach and the need for cross-border cooperation. It also plans to take a leading role in shaping international
standards, particularly in digital finance and non-bank financial risk.
The regulator is committing to clear and measurable outcomes. By 2030, it wants to see an increase in financial exports, greater consumer satisfaction, broader access to key financial products, and slower growth in fraud-related losses.
It’s also pledging to improve its own performance, measuring operational efficiency, reducing reporting burdens for firms, and ensuring that data is used intelligently and proportionately.
The strategy is, in many ways, a blueprint for how regulation should evolve in a digital age: not as a barrier to innovation, but as a catalyst for progress and a safeguard for trust. It marks a significant shift in tone, toward openness,
forward thinking, and shared accountability.
For those of us working in or with the financial sector, this strategy offers both reassurance and challenge. The FCA is signalling that it wants to be more responsive, more accessible, and more empowering, but it also expects firms to
step up, embrace risk where appropriate, and deliver better outcomes for their customers.
It’s a strategy built on the belief that financial services, when well-governed, can be a powerful force for good, helping businesses grow, helping people live more secure lives, and helping the UK thrive on the global stage.
