The FCA’s 2026–2027 annual work programme

March 2026

Hot on the heels of the publication of its nine priorities reports (see article here), the FCA has published its 2026–27 annual work programme. Not surprisingly, most of the policy and supervision content already features in the priorities reports. The FCA is promoting the work programme as ‘setting out the next stage of our transformation into a smarter, more data‑driven regulator’ and therefore most of the new content details the way the FCA is using technology to change the way it works and interacts with firms.

The details of the work programme

The annual work programme is the second within the FCA’s five-year strategy and details work against the four strategic priorities:

A smarter regulator
Supporting growth
Helping consumers navigate their financial lives
Fighting financial crime

It also highlights three other areas of focus. Two are structural reforms to the supervisory framework — consolidating the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) and the AML supervision of other sectors into the FCA — and the other one the redress scheme on motor finance

In the priorities reports, the FCA details how it is adapting its supervisory approach to increase the number of firms it has touchpoints with. In the workplan, it details further ways it is changing how it works such as:

Integrating AI into regulatory workflows, enabling it to detect harm more effectively and speed up regulatory decision making.
Following successful testing, rolling out generative AI across authorisation and supervision to review documents received from firms (FOS is also already using GenAI to analyse consultation responses.)
Building regulatory readiness for quantum computing through targeted research, improving specialist capability and convening industry, academia and international partners.
Increasing the number and range of firm and fund applications submitted through simplified and digitised forms.
Using a sandbox environment to test data feeds between the FCA and participating firms, with a view to further reducing manual effort.
Expanding its overseas presence, including to China, India and potentially the United Arab Emirates, and deepen relationships in Singapore and the US.

There are only a few new policy announcements or confirmations on next steps that didn’t make it into the priorities reports. Examples include plans to:

Engage with the market to identify any barriers to scaling finance for climate solutions and consider practical ways to remove them.
Continue work with industry and the Government to explore options to speed up bereavement insurance claims.
Further speed up initial public offering (IPO) applications by proposing to remove the 7-day research waiting period.
Conduct a review into how regulation can help SMEs to access finance so they can start up and grow.
Explore ways to improve consumer understanding and appreciation of how climate risks, and particularly flood risk, may affect them financially.

Perimeter report

Alongside the workplan the FCA has also published this year’s regulatory perimeter report. The report list areas where there has already been discussion with the government on changes to the perimeter, including clarity on sports and non-financial betting, authorisation of trustees and modernising the payments framework. The FCA also highlights three new areas that need consideration as they may pose risk to consumers:

The growing use of general-purpose AI for guidance on borrowing, saving and investing — consumers need to understand they don’t have any FOS or FSCS protections.
Speculative prediction market products, which have expanded rapidly overseas. Remit is currently split between the FCA and the Gambling Commission.
'Annex 1 firms’, such as money brokers, financial leasing companies, are only regulated for money laundering purposes and not subject to the FCA’s wider rules, and the FCA views that this creates risks for regulated firms doing business with them.

To sum up, these two publications only include few details which have not already been signposted or announced by the FCA — emphasising the importance of the new regulatory priorities reports. However, they are useful to understand more strategic changes being made and implemented by the organisation.