Building the future of finance in the age of AI

Jessica Rusu's remarks confirm that six of the seven Mills Review recommendations are being embedded into live work immediately, with emphasis on testing, assurance, monitoring and surveillance rather than further consultation. For compliance teams, this means AI governance should be demonstrably operational: maintain a complete inventory of AI use cases across retail and wholesale activities, evidence model testing and monitoring, define accountability, and be ready to explain how agentic finance, payments and fraud-detection systems are controlled. Firms should expect direct supervisory engagement and requests for evidence.

The wholesale market message broadens scope beyond retail, so trading, research and decision-support AI are in focus. Immediate actions include mapping AI deployments, reviewing third-party and agent arrangements, strengthening consumer-harm and fraud controls, and preparing assurance documentation. Opportunities exist for firms that can demonstrate robust AI oversight and engage early with FCA innovation services.