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Chancellor Rallies Retail Banks Behind Her Economic Plan

Chancellor Rachel Reeves met on 22 April 2026 with CEOs of Barclays UK, Lloyds Banking Group, Santander UK, NatWest Group, Nationwide Building Society, and HSBC UK to discuss the government's economic plan. The meeting, held during Fintech Week 2026, addressed global uncertainty following the Middle East conflict and highlighted the financial services sector's role in managing risk and supporting households. Ministers also discussed the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, including Targeted Support for retail investment, skills reforms, and major pensions reform via the Pensions Bill.

FCA Selects Eight Firms for Second AI Live Testing Cohort

The FCA has announced the second cohort of its AI Live Testing programme, selecting eight firms including Barclays, Experian, Lloyds Banking Group (Scottish Widows), and UBS to live test AI applications in financial services. The initiative, conducted with technical partner Advai, covers use cases including AI-enabled investment support, credit score insights, agentic payments, AML detection, and KYC. Testing will conclude by end of 2026, with an evaluation report published in Q1 2027. The FCA will also publish a good and poor practice report for AI in financial services later in 2026.