The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has unveiled its comprehensive strategy for 2025-2030, focusing on becoming a 'smarter' regulator and supporting sustained economic growth in the UK's financial services sector.

The strategy outlines four key priorities: becoming a more efficient regulator, supporting economic growth, helping consumers navigate financial decisions, and combating financial crime.

The watchdog, which regulates about 42,000 firms, plans to 'embrace technology' and digitise its processes to handle the 100,000 cases it assesses annually more effectively. This includes streamlining supervisory approaches and simplifying authorisation processes.

"We want to deepen trust in financial services and shift our collective attitude across financial services to risk," said Ashley Alder, chair of the FCA. "Too often the focus has been on the risks of a decision taken rather than the lost opportunity of taking none."

The strategy comes alongside plans to integrate the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), which the government announced will be abolished as part of an efficiency drive. The FCA will also establish a permanent presence in the United States and Asia.

Chief executive Nikhil Rathi emphasised the organisation's commitment to progress. "We are committed to going much further, delivering at pace to meet the scale of change we are facing over the next five years," he said.

The FCA plans to build on the success of open banking by launching 'open finance', with expectations to establish regulatory foundations for the first scheme by the end of 2027. This initiative aims to encourage innovation and competition in financial services by allowing users to share data with third-party providers.

The organisation is also expanding its regional presence, with plans to double the number of colleagues in its Edinburgh and Leeds offices over the next five years. Currently employing 4,995 staff, the FCA sees this geographical expansion as crucial to its strategy.

Significantly, the strategy aligns with the government's broader ambition to reform regulatory frameworks. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously criticised the proliferation of regulatory bodies, describing them as a "cottage industry of checkers and blockers".

The FCA's approach includes taking a less intensive approach for firms demonstrating good conduct and reviewing whether certain data returns can be eliminated. By digitising and simplifying processes, the organisation aims to make applications quicker and reduce follow-up requests.

"These proposals are part of our long-term efforts to future-proof our rules, reduce burdens for financial firms," said Sarah Pritchard, the FCA's executive director of competition, consumers and international.

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