UK regulators are shifting from watching AI to actively shaping it: the FCA and Bank of England’s survey shows 86% of UK financial firms now use AI, while the FCA has said it will not write AI-specific rules and is already building agentic oversight of its own. Meanwhile, banks on both sides of the Atlantic are pivoting from chatbots to AI agents, reshaping hiring and squeezing junior analyst roles.
Top story: The FCA says 86% of UK financial firms now use AI and has set out its plan for oversight of ‘agentic finance’ without introducing AI-specific rules.
FCA maps out ‘agentic finance’ oversight as AI use hits 86%
FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) · Regulation
In a speech on 19 October, the FCA’s Jessica Rusu said firms are moving from experimentation to deployment, with a joint AI survey with the Bank of England showing 86% of firms now use AI. The regulator wants to work with industry and frontier AI labs on a framework covering agent identity and delegated authority. For compliance and risk leaders, it signals that accountability for autonomous AI systems will be judged under existing rules.
https://www.fca.org.uk/news/speeches/building-future-finance-age-ai
FCA won’t write AI rules but flags weak governance at firms
Financial News · Risk
The FCA found some firms are deploying AI before accountability is established, with reviewers accepting AI recommendations without first verifying their accuracy. It has confirmed it will not introduce AI-specific rules, relying instead on the Consumer Duty, SM&CR and SYSC governance requirements. Senior managers should expect existing personal-accountability regimes to apply directly to AI failures.
FCA turns AI on its own supervision of thousands of firms
Computer Weekly · Tools
FCA data chief Jessica Rusu said the regulator is building AI tools to help oversee anti-money laundering controls at 60,000 extra firms under rules arriving in 2028, and using AI agents to help supervise thousands of small firms reporting wholesale market transactions. Regulated firms should expect more automated, data-driven scrutiny, so data quality and reporting accuracy matter more.
Wall Street’s hottest skill: orchestrating AI agents, up 1,721%
CNBC · Strategy
AI-related job posts at banks including JPMorgan, Citigroup and Capital One surged 49% this year to 139,819 listings, according to Draup. References to ‘responsible AI’ rose 657%, with AI governance and risk management mentions also jumping sharply. Banks are moving beyond chatbots to agent-based workflows, creating demand for governance and oversight skills.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/02/ai-redefining-wall-street-jobs.html
Banks cut junior hiring as AI reshapes analyst roles
Revelio Labs · Finance
Hiring data shows bank postings are far more AI-exposed than the wider economy: 49% for junior roles and 43% for senior roles, against 35% elsewhere. Reports suggest banks are cutting incoming junior analyst classes by as much as two-thirds, while senior and tech roles grow. For early-career finance professionals, the training pipeline itself is being restructured around AI.
https://www.reveliolabs.com/news/ai-and-work/ai-junior-bankers-hiring-data