UK finance watchdog wants firms to report AI failures and close calls

The UK's financial regulator says firms' incident reporting must cover significant AI failures and near-misses as increasingly autonomous systems raise new risks.

Speaking at Bloomberg's UK Policy Series on Monday, Financial Conduct Authority chief data, information and intelligence officer Jessica Rusu said the regulator wants Britain to lead safe AI adoption in financial services. Greater autonomy, however, requires clear accountability.

"Poorly governed AI can create consumer harm, cyber vulnerabilities, and operational failures, potentially at much greater speed and scale," she said.

"Our rules already require firms to report major incidents, and that must extend to significant AI failures and near-misses. As the AI Minister has recognized, near-miss reporting for agentic AI is becoming a national security priority. It is a regulatory priority too."

The UK punches above its weight in financial services. The sector contributed £223.6 billion to the UK economy in 2025, or 8 percent of national output. That share was the fourth highest among OECD countries.

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