Topic hub
Regulatory Change and External Expectations
Regulatory expectations rarely announce themselves in a single publication. By the time a requirement is codified, supervisors have often already signalled intent through enforcement patterns, public statements and informal conversations, leaving firms who only read the text exposed.
Polar Insight's view
Polar Insight helps leadership teams read regulator intent early, prepare for change before it is formalised, and enter submissions, approvals and reviews with evidence rather than assumption.
Featured insights
238,000 suspected money mule accounts: why account closures are not the win banks think
The FCA's latest survey shows firms closed 238,396 suspected mule accounts in 2025, but criminals are still cashing out between the second and fifth account in the chain. For senior leaders, the data reframes mule controls as an intelligence-sharing problem, not a volume metric.
Rathi's tokenisation push: from experiment to adoption in wholesale markets
FCA chief executive Nikhil Rathi has told the City that the UK must move from experimentation to adoption on tokenisation and AI, citing estimates of £33 billion in annual GDP benefit. For senior leaders in wholesale markets, the signal is that regulatory patience with pilots is running out and hybrid infrastructure decisions can no longer be deferred.
Protection's coverage gap: the FCA's quiet test of Consumer Duty
The FCA's final Pure Protection Market Study finds competition works for existing customers but around 58% of adults hold no protection cover. Rather than impose new rules, the regulator is testing whether firms can close the gap under Consumer Duty and product governance obligations already on the books.
Hunter Jones in the High Court: the FCA's unauthorised business escalation
The FCA has issued High Court proceedings against Osborne Baldwin Limited, trading as Hunter Jones, alleging unauthorised regulated activity in the sale of loan notes and seeking investor restitution. The move signals a more litigious posture on perimeter breaches that authorised firms, distributors and professional advisers cannot ignore.
The FCA's bid for legal and accounting AML supervision: what changes for regulated firms
Steve Smart used the Law Society Economic Crime Conference to signal the FCA is ready to take on anti-money laundering supervision of the legal and accounting sectors. For financial services leaders, the move reshapes the intelligence-sharing perimeter and raises the bar on what 'partnership' with the regulator now requires.
Crypto authorisation opens 30 September: the gateway is now the strategy
The FCA has published perimeter guidance for the UK's cryptoasset regime, with the authorisation gateway opening on 30 September 2026 and the regime taking effect on 25 October 2027. For senior leaders at crypto firms and the banks, custodians and asset managers adjacent to them, the thirteen-month window between gateway opening and regime commencement is now the defining planning horizon.
Relevant guides
How to Build Market Entry Intelligence for Regulated Industries
A practical guide to designing market entry intelligence for regulated sectors such as banking, insurance, and asset management. Readers will understand how to structure the intelligence effort, sequence regulatory and commercial diligence, and reach a defensible go or no-go decision.
How to Run Go-to-Market Research in Financial Services
A practical guide to designing go-to-market research for financial services products and propositions, covering buyer evidence, regulatory realities, and competitive signal. After reading, you will be able to scope, sequence, and pressure-test a GTM research programme that holds up with your board, your distribution partners, and the first line.
How to Structure a Change in Control Application That Holds Its Timeline
A practical guide to preparing Section 178 Change in Control notifications that give the FCA and PRA what they need to assess without triggering clarification cycles that stall completion. Readers will learn how to sequence evidence, pre-empt supervisory questions, and build an application pack that supports a clean 60-working-day assessment.
How to Structure a Recovery Plan Regulators Will Accept as Executable
A practical guide to building a Recovery Plan that supervisors treat as a credible operational document rather than a compliance artefact. Readers will learn how to sequence stress calibration, option design, governance triggers, and management actions so the plan holds up under both desktop review and live stress.
How to Write an ICAAP Narrative That Shows Real Capital Judgement
This guide sets out how to construct an ICAAP document that evidences genuine board-level thinking about capital adequacy, not formulaic compliance. After reading, you will know how to sequence the narrative, where to place judgement, and how to make the document defensible under supervisory challenge.
How to Build a Climate Transition Plan That Withstands Investor and Regulatory Scrutiny
This guide sets out how senior leaders in regulated firms can construct a transition plan that holds up under both investor interrogation and prudential supervision. After reading, you will know how to sequence the plan's build, where credibility usually breaks down, and what evidence base you need to defend it.