FCA chair calls for cross-border testing of cloud and AI risks to finance

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

In a lecture honouring the late Michael D. Gill, FCA Chair Ashley Alder argues that financial risk now travels across firms, sectors and borders faster than regulators built in silos can track. He sets out why the UK's Critical Third Parties Regime, supervisory intelligence-sharing and joint crisis exercises need to expand internationally. Relevant for firms watching how operational resilience obligations may extend beyond financial services.

• The FCA, Bank of England and Prudential Regulation Authority's Critical Third Parties Regime currently covers major cloud computing providers, marking the first time UK financial regulators have extended reach outside the financial sector.
• The FCA hosted a financial crime conference this year with more than 400 attendees from government, regulators, industry, professional bodies and tech firms.
• The UK participated in a G7 cyber crisis simulation exercise earlier this year to test cross-border coordination during a major incident.
• The Global Financial Innovation Network, which Alder says the FCA is leading on a quantum toolkit due next month, draws on insights from 25 members including US regulators.
• The FCA is working with the Monetary Authority of Singapore to develop tools supporting safe, responsible AI adoption.

Executive summary

In a speech delivered on 13 October 2026 at the Michael D. Gill Lecture, FCA Chair Ashley Alder argued that post-financial-crisis reforms, strengthened capital, improved market transparency and derivatives reform, addressed the causes of the last crisis but do not…

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