Morning, Tuesday, 16th December 2025
Online
This conference will examine next steps for risk management, operational resilience, and prudential reform in the UK financial services sector.
It will bring stakeholders and policymakers together to examine proposals set out in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, including changes to prudential regulation, ring-fencing, capital and loss-absorbing requirements, and updates to the Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SM&CR) announced as part of the Chancellor’s Leeds Reforms.
The agenda includes a focus on how measures might support objectives for competitiveness and growth in the financial services sector, and their implications for proportionality, transparency, and supervisory resource planning across the system.
Prudential oversight & financial stability
Attendees will consider implications of developments in the sector for prudential oversight, capacity within oversight bodies, and priorities for policy, regulation and sector conduct in managing the balance between growth and risk.
Proposals to reform the ring-fencing regime will be assessed, looking at the scope of institutions and activities that are included, deposit and trading thresholds that should apply, and how best to align structural separation of core retail banking and riskier activities with current systemic risks. Delegates will also consider how changes might affect the effectiveness of prudential tools, supervisory expectations, and the overall burden on firms operating across retail and investment banking, including how these frameworks might evolve to reflect changes in business models and risk profiles while maintaining resilience and reducing unnecessary complexity.
Changes to the SM&CR will be discussed, including how reform might streamline the Senior Management Functions approval process and reduce regulatory burden on firms - with HM Treasury currently considering stakeholder consultation responses. Delegates will examine implications for internal governance frameworks, with stakeholders raising concerns about potential dilution of accountability and the regime’s aims of promoting a strong risk culture, alongside proposals from regulators and industry to reduce the number of pre-approval SMFs and refocus the Certification Regime to achieve greater proportionality.
Stress testing & systemic oversight
Further sessions look at stress testing exercises and wider assessments of systemic risk. Delegates will consider findings from the Bank of England’s latest scenario testing for major institutions, alongside implications for capital planning and regulatory direction, as well as the BoE Financial Policy Committee’s assessment of external threats to stability, including their potential influence on policymaking, market preparedness, and coordination between oversight bodies.
Critical Third Party regime
Early operation of the Critical Third Party framework - the new regime for oversight of key external technology and service providers whose failure could pose systemic risk - will also be considered. We expect discussion on disruption risks, accountability, transparency of selection criteria, and how firms can prepare for potential designation orders.
Attendees will assess next steps in the supervisory approach, looking at practical implications for cloud, AI, and other technology providers offering critical services - with the FCA confirming that systemic AI providers could fall under the regime if designated by HM Treasury.
Operational resilience, cybersecurity & incident reporting
The agenda will also look at the way forward following the end of the PS21/3 transition period, introduced by the PRA and FCA in 2021 to strengthen operational resilience and giving firms until March 2025 to demonstrate full compliance. Discussion will focus on governance of resilience frameworks, capacity within firms and regulators, and continuity of critical business services as requirements come into force. There will be a session on priorities for supporting the cyber-resilience of the UK’s financial services ecosystem.
With a policy statement on operation incident and third-party reporting expected from the FCA, Bank of England, and PRA, delegates will consider appropriate thresholds and timeframes for reporting, as well as potential overlaps with existing obligations, particularly under the EU’s DORA framework. Uncertainties around cross-border coordination and management of service outages will also be explored in the context of maintaining continuity and confidence across the financial system.
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates.
