Insights
The FCA’s 2025-2030 Five Year Strategy
Over the next five years, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will operate under a strategic vision that focuses on becoming a smarter regulator, supporting economic growth, deepening trust in financial services, and improving the lives of consumers. This strategy responds to major economic, technological, and societal shifts and is aimed at positioning the UK as a global leader in financial services. There are certain opportunities and challenges over the next five years. We are in a period of technological transformation and growth with innovation encouraging competition. These opportunities are challenged by financial resilience with many of the most vulnerable members of society struggling with bills and debts and with an aging UK population financial services have a role in managing this shift. These changes have led to the FCA to take steps to steer the financial industry:
- Becoming a Smarter Regulator
The FCA will streamline its supervisory practices and enhance efficiency by investing in technology, data systems, and workforce distribution. Supervision will become more flexible, with lower intensity for compliant firms and the FCA will make greater use of insights from supervisory work shared with the industry. New metrics will be developed to track performance and effectiveness. The rollout of “My FCA” will centralise firm interactions and reduce regulatory friction.
- Supporting Growth
To drive UK competitiveness, the FCA will reform capital markets, the creation of the digital securities sandbox, and simplification of disclosure regimes. These reforms aim to ease access to capital, enhance liquidity, and encourage long-term investment. Rules will be reformed to suit the UK market and unlock innovation in sectors like commercial insurance and asset management. Markers of success will be an increase in the UK’s financial services exports and better access to capital for businesses.
- Helping Consumers Navigate Finance
The FCA will enhance consumer resilience by driving better value in pensions and insurance, reviewing affordability rules for mortgages, and enabling broader access to financial advice. It will also integrate the Consumer Duty framework to ensure firms deliver good outcomes and treat customers fairly. The FCA will support the Government as it develops a financial inclusion strategy, which will work with partners as they lead work to address low financial capability, which often holds consumers back from accessing the financial services which could support them and enable them to make better choices.
- Fighting Financial Crime
The FCA will intensify efforts to disrupt criminal behaviour within regulated firms and improve the financial system’s resilience to fraud. This includes close collaboration with law enforcement and leveraging its regulatory position to act proactively against wrongdoing. The FCA also wants to ensure that consumers have the tools they need to protect themselves and continue to drive awareness of investment and APP fraud, this will be achieved through continued alerts of potential scams and additional information to ensure consumers avoid being tricked out of their money.
The FCA will deliver on this strategy by being “open, curious and forward thinking, collaborative and resourceful”. Such attributes will ensure that consumers are prioritised, and the UK financial services sector continues to be a global financial hub. As the financial landscape evolves amid global uncertainty and technological transformation, the FCA’s 2025–2030 strategy offers market participants a clearer view of the regulatory road ahead. By prioritising oversight, developing sustainable growth, enhancing consumer outcomes, and deepening trust, the FCA is setting the tone for a more resilient financial system.
The full strategy can be viewed here.
For further information please contact Dan Harasemchuk rdh@objectivus.com or Bhavisha Patel bp@objectivus.com
or +44 (0)2034 573 283