AI is moving from pilot to infrastructure in finance: HSBC’s markets chief predicts AI will do much of the trading within years, while HSBC and other banks open their data to clients’ own AI agents. Regulation is shifting at the same time, with the EU’s high-risk AI Act deadline now law and pushed to December 2027 and the Bank of England expecting AI models to be tested before and after deployment. UK and European capital is also flowing into AI, from the British Business Bank’s £180m fund commitments to small regtech and adviser-tooling raises.
Top story: HSBC’s investment bank boss says AI will trade in financial markets instead of humans within two to four years.
HSBC investment bank chief: AI will trade instead of humans
Computer Weekly · Strategy
HSBC’s investment banking head says advances in AI, quantum computing and distributed ledger technology mean the next two to four years will change the pace, speed and scope of what is traded. It follows HSBC UK’s announcement earlier this month that it will replace human wealth managers with AI. For trading and wealth professionals, this is a senior banker publicly signalling that front-office roles are being redesigned, not just assisted.
EU AI Act delay is law: credit scoring rules slip to 2027
PPC Land · Regulation
The Digital Omnibus on AI is now law as Regulation (EU) 2026/1744. It moves obligations for high-risk systems such as credit scoring from August 2026 to 2 December 2027. A separate data omnibus covering GDPR changes has not yet reached trilogue, and banks and insurers should treat the new dates as their compliance planning baseline.
British Business Bank commits £180m to AI and deeptech funds
Tech.eu · Finance
The state-owned British Business Bank is investing £180m across six AI and deeptech VC funds, including £55m in Intrepid Growth Partners’ AI-focused growth fund and £35m in Crane Ventures’ Crane III fund. It has also directly backed Wayve, Kraken Technologies and PolyAI. The deal shows public money being used to close the UK’s gap in funding for AI companies, which will shape the pipeline of UK fintech and AI startups.
https://tech.eu/2026/10/15/british-business-bank-invests-ps180m-across-ai-and-deeptech-and-ai-funds
OpenAI-backed London startup Relace raises $1.6m for AI compliance
City A.M. · Risk
Relace, a London fintech founded by a former lawyer and an AI engineer, raised $1.6m in pre-seed funding led by Boost Capital. Angel investors include people from JPMorgan, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, OpenAI and SAP. It will use AI to help financial firms handle mounting regulatory requirements, and it has been selected for the FCA’s supercharged sandbox.
https://www.cityam.com/openai-backed-fintech-raises-1-6m-to-tackle-regulation/