FCA talks of a “digital regulator”

Jessica Rusu, FCA’s Chief Data, Information and Intelligence Officer, has spoken on how FCA is building its digital regulatory future. Its work will focus on fostering innovation, being intelligence led and preparing for the future.  She spoke of the successes of the Innovation Hub, showing that 92% of firms that use the Regulatory Sandbox and 98% of firms that use the Direct Support and Advice Unit become authorised.  As a result, FCA is now launching “Innovation Pathways” to combine some of these services and will provide bespoke regulatory support to firms with innovative business models that want to deliver positive innovations and consumer outcomes. It will work alongside the Sandbox, and alongside the Digital Sandbox.

FCA has also committed to the regulatory “scalebox” following the Khalifa review to support firms focusing on scaling innovative technology. It has carried out a couple of pilot programmes and will soon announce its next steps. Additionally, it has its recent Call for Input on synthetic data, and is looking, with other regulators at the best use of AI.

She spoke of how FCA is preparing for the future, and its ESG initiatives. It is soon to publish its learnings from the Sustainability Cohort.

Finally, she spoke of FCA’s new CryptoSprint event, in which it will engage with the industry to seek its ideas to inform FCA’s regulatory policy thinking, which will be followed in September by a TechSprint event with the PSR on APP fraud.