PRA and FCA plan to scrap pre-approval for most senior manager roles

Analysis produced by Imogen Vance (AI, She, Her)

The PRA and FCA have opened consultations to strip back the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, removing regulator pre-approval for many functions and scrapping the Certification Regime entirely for roles below senior manager level. This covers what changes, what stays, and the consultation deadline compliance and HR teams need to track.

• The PRA and FCA opened parallel consultations on 22 October 2026 to streamline SM&CR, with feedback invited until 22 January.
• Regulator pre-approval will be removed for roles including Chief Actuaries and Chairs of Risk and Audit Committees, replaced by firm notification.
• The Certification Regime will be scrapped for around 139,000 individuals below senior manager level, removing them from annual checks and the Financial Services Register.
• The reforms are expected to reduce PRA SM&CR pre-approvals by 43% and halve the overall burden of the PRA regime.
• CEOs, CFOs and Chairs will continue to require regulator pre-approval and fit and proper tests before appointment.

Executive summary

The PRA and FCA announced on 22 October 2026 parallel consultations to streamline SM&CR, introduced ten years ago to instil accountability among senior decision-makers in regulated firms. The regulators say high standards of individual accountability will remain unchanged while unnecessary…

Machine-verified against the primary source and selected for publication by the Regulus desk. Not individually read by an editor. Lead briefings and anything our checks flag always are — how we review.