UK regulators propose cutting banker accountability checks

The Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority on Thursday proposed removing regulator pre-approval for a range of senior finance roles and ending annual certification checks for about 139,000 staff, in a streamlining of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime they expect to save firms about £2 billion over ten years.

Why it matters: The proposals are the most significant rollback yet of the accountability regime built a decade ago after the financial crisis, and they test whether the regulators can cut a compliance burden they link to slower hiring and growth without weakening the individual accountability the regime was created to enforce.

Data as of Bank of England news release, October 22, 2026, publishing the PRA and FCA consultation proposals, read in full; the role counts, the £2 billion saving and the approval changes are the regulators' own figures. Wire coverage the same day described the package as a watering down of the post-2008 fit and proper rules. Developing item.

The Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority announced parallel consultations on Thursday to significantly streamline the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, the accountability framework introduced ten years ago. Regulator pre-approval would be removed for a range of functions, including chief actuaries and the chairs of risk and audit committees, with firms instead notifying regulators of appointments directly, and the Certification Regime would be removed for around 139,000 individuals below senior manager level who currently face annual certification checks. The regulators expect the changes to save firms around £2 billion over a ten-year period and to cut PRA pre-approvals by 43 percent.

Chief executives, chief financial officers and chairs would still require regulator pre-approval, including fit and proper tests, and the regulators said standards of individual accountability and conduct remain unchanged. Some of the reforms require legislative change, the consultations run until January 22, and policy is expected to follow in 2027.

UK regulators propose cutting banker accountability checks

Sources