On 19 May 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published the latest edition of the Regulatory Initiatives Grid from the Financial Services Regulatory Initiatives Forum. The Forum is made up of representatives of the Bank of England (BoE), the Competition and Markets Authority, the FCA, the Financial Reporting Council, HM Treasury, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the Payment Systems Regulator, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Pensions Regulator.

The Regulatory Initiatives Grid

The Grid sets out the planned regulatory initiatives for the next 24 months, to help the financial services industry and other stakeholders to understand and plan for the timing of the initiatives that may have a significant operational impact on them.

The Grid includes a ‘multi-sector’ section covering initiatives that span more than one sector, as well as sector-specific sections covering Banking, credit and lending; Payments and cryptoassets; Insurance and reinsurance; Investment management; Pensions and retirement income; Retail investments; and Wholesale financial markets.

New multi-sector initiatives

In addition to new sector-specific initiatives, the Grid sets out eight new multi-sector initiatives across-a broad range of sub-categories including conduct, cross-cutting measures, sustainable finance, financial resilience, and other initiatives. They include:

  • ICO guidance on sharing personal information when preventing, detecting, and investigating scams and frauds update: This guidance update will make some amendments (introduced by the Data (Use and Access) Act) to the existing advice setting out how organisations can approach sharing personal data when preventing, detecting, and investigating scams and frauds.
  • ICO guidance on right to Rectification Updates: This guidance update will make some amendments (introduced by the Data (Use and Access) Act to the existing provisions that set out an individual’s right to have inaccurate personal data rectified, or completed if it is incomplete
  • BoE exercise on the private markets system-wide exploratory scenario (SWES): The private markets SWES exercise aims to improve understanding of the behaviour of banks and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) active in private markets in response to a downturn, and whether these interactions can amplify stress across the financial system and pose risks to UK financial stability and the provision of finance to the UK corporate sector.
  • FCA proposals on streamlining sustainability reporting for asset managers and FCA-regulated asset owners: Following a review of climate reporting by asset managers, life insurers and FCA[1]regulated pension providers, aligned with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations, the FCA is considering how to streamline and enhance its sustainability reporting framework for these firms.
  • FCA review of the Investment Firm Prudential Regime (IFPR): In effect since 1 January 2022, to ensure it remains fit for purpose amid evolving market conditions and the FCA’s strategic priorities. This review will also provide an opportunity to consider how the IFPR can be better aligned with COREPRU, as set out in CP25/15, published in May 2025. This initiative was announced in February 2026.
  • FCA Decision Procedure and Penalties Manual (DEPP) Consultation: Proposing several small changes to DEPP which primarily clarify how the FCA’s penalty policy impacts individuals. These include an increase to the serious financial hardship threshold, an increase for the minimum initial fine for individual market abuse in some cases and updating treatment of individuals’ deferred income.
  • FCA Financial Crime Guide (FCG) Updates: The FCA has made an ongoing commitment to keeping the FCG up to date and is currently developing revisions to include new guidance and refresh existing content within the FCG. The FCA intends to publish a consultation on the proposed updates in September/October 2026.

The sector-specific initiatives, which also include several new developments, are set out in their respective sections within the Grid.