Regulations
By Julie Binoche
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AI and 56 Million Records a Day. The FCA's supervisory operation is bigger than most people realize.
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60,000 Legal and Accounting Firms Coming Into Scope. Here's the big number. The FCA is set to take on anti-money laundering supervisory…
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The FCA is going harder on financial crime. Steve Smart, the authority's executive director of enforcement, made that clear during his speech at the Law Society Economic Crime…
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Smart didn't mince words. The FCA wants firms to see themselves as active partners in the fight, not just passive recipients of regulatory guidance.
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One early sign: the threshold for the Defence Against Money Laundering Suspicious Activity Report has been adjusted to £3,000. That's not a small tweak.
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The FCA's supervisory operation is bigger than most people realize. Their systems now process over 56 million records daily, using AI to flag high-risk firms faster than any…
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The agency is also working toward what it calls "agentic supervision" — a model where technology handles more of the pattern recognition and routine monitoring.
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The FCA's multidisciplinary team includes nearly 400 practicing lawyers. That's a serious in-house capability, and it's going to matter a lot as the authority prepares for its…
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Here's the big number. The FCA is set to take on anti-money laundering supervisory responsibilities for around 60,000 entities in the legal and accounting sectors.
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More context: FCAs New Guidance Reveals Complexities Ahead of UK Crypto Authorization Window
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The FCA has been engaging with Professional Body Supervisors in both sectors to understand the operational realities on the ground.
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And it's not just about adding oversight. The FCA is also trying to reduce unnecessary burden on the firms it already supervises.
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Smart was direct on one point: firms with strong standards and solid controls have nothing to fear.
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The NCA's data fusion program is another piece of the puzzle. It pulls banking data together with law enforcement intelligence to spot emerging threats earlier.
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More context: S&P Global Acquires OpenZeppelin, Uniting 900 Blockchain Audits for Enhanced Risk Analysis
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