UK's FCA requires firms to report AI failures and near-misses in financial services

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced plans on October 19, 2026, to expand incident-reporting requirements for financial firms to cover artificial intelligence failures and near-misses. Chief Data Officer Jessica Rusu warned that autonomous agentic AI poses risks to consumer protection, cyber security, and operational stability. The FCA is creating a framework for agentic finance while lawmakers and experts weigh aviation-style mandatory reporting models for the sector, which contributed £223.6 billion to the UK economy in 2025.

Proposals for AI incident reporting

• ▪UK artificial intelligence minister Kanishka Narayan stated in October 2026 that the government plans to work with Parliament and technical experts to evaluate incident and near-miss reporting mechanisms to counter AI-driven cyber threats and loss-of-control risks.
• ▪Financial Conduct Authority chief data officer Jessica Rusu stated on October 19, 2026, that existing incident-reporting rules for UK financial firms must extend to cover significant artificial intelligence failures and near-misses.
• ▪The UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology had not committed as of October 2026 to including AI-specific reporting measures in the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill.

Proposals for aviation-style near-miss reporting

• ▪Guidelight AI Standards co-founder Steven Adler told UK Members of Parliament in October 2026 that artificial intelligence oversight should adopt mandatory near-miss reporting modeled after aviation industry safety protocols.
• ▪Guidelight AI Standards co-founder Steven Adler stated that reporting near-misses allows organizations to analyze systemic safety risks and prevent catastrophic future crashes.

FCA warnings on autonomous AI risks

• ▪Financial Conduct Authority official Jessica Rusu stated on October 19, 2026, that agentic AI systems require continuous conditional assurance because model behavior can alter under stress, at scale, or across underlying updates.
• ▪Financial Conduct Authority chief data officer Jessica Rusu warned on October 19, 2026, that poorly governed autonomous AI systems create consumer harm, cyber vulnerabilities, and operational failures at heightened speed and scale.

FCA framework for agentic finance

• ▪Financial Conduct Authority chief data officer Jessica Rusu announced on October 19, 2026, that the regulator is developing a regulatory framework for agentic finance covering agent identity, delegated authority, accountability, and execution.
• ▪The Financial Conduct Authority is developing its agentic finance framework in collaboration with financial industry representatives, other regulatory bodies, and frontier artificial intelligence laboratories.

FCA guidance on AI deployment

• ▪On October 19, 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority published guidance titled "AI in financial services: good practices and areas for improvement" to provide practical deployment advice for financial firms.
• ▪Financial Conduct Authority chief data officer Jessica Rusu stated on October 19, 2026, that well-deployed artificial intelligence systems benefit consumers through more competitive pricing and faster service.