The FCA regulator has just announced three new priorities for financial wholesale markets. These are laid out in the new annual sector report and arrive at a key moment for UK financial services, which is undergoing a profound transformation. These are the three priorities that the FCA has laid out for financial wholesale markets:
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Boost the resilience of markets and firms
Because financial markets are operating in increasingly risky markets, the FCA expects businesses to elevate their operational resilience standards, with robust trading controls and clear liquidity management. This includes ensuring that compliance elearning, provided by companies like www.adempi.co.uk/compliance-training/elearning-courses, is on offer to employees. In 2025, 170 operational incidents were reported to the FCA in wholesale markets, and third-party issues had driven a quarter of them.
Ensure markets are competitive and innovative
The FCA wants markets to be efficient, competitive and innovative, and it’s introducing a range of reforms to grow and strengthen markets, whilst ensuring they remain competitive and open. This means giving businesses flexibility to make risk-based choices without an excess of prescriptive checks that stifle competition. The focus is on appropriate risk management with the right controls, not stifling the market.
Support new tech
The FCA also wants to see new technology prioritised safely and responsibly, including quantum computing, digital assets and AI, to support effective markets, but with the right governance and oversight. It also wants to see thorough testing to ensure these technologies are safe and reliable within the wholesale markets, particularly as the climate of cybercrime and risk management grows.