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On Thursday 4 December, UK Finance hosted its flagship annual Economic Crime Congress at the QEII Centre, London – a gathering of over 670 delegates from across the public and private sectors to consider the theme ‘Collaboration in Action’. Our speaker line-up featured a diverse range of experts that truly reflected the breadth of topics on the agenda.
The day started with an opening address from Ben Donaldson, our Managing Director of Economic Crime. Ben reflected on the achievements of the banking and finance industry and what further action is needed to tackle economic crime in the UK.
Lord Hanson, Minister of State, UK Home Office, provided an opening keynote address on the upcoming government's Fraud Strategy and the importance of data sharing, partnerships and artificial intelligence in helping to prevent fraud.
The day continued with an insightful fireside chat on 10 years of public private partnerships with Rachael Herbert, Director, National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), National Crime Agency (NCA) and Marcus Wogart, Managing Director, Group Head, Non Financial Risk, NatWest Group.
Our first panel discussion on ‘Collaborative strategies: Ensuring a more effective economic crime regime to drive desired outcomes’ included panellists - James Babbage, Director General for Threats, National Crime Agency (NCA), Mike Regnier, Chief Executive Officer, Santander UK and Dr. Michelle Haslem CMG, Director General Homeland Security Group, UK Home Office, moderated by Tracy Paradise, Group Head of AML & FC Strategy, HSBC.
David Postings, our Chief Executive, wrapped up the morning sessions with a keynote address that outlined the progress made by the banking and finance sector in preventing economic crime and explored the key areas of focus for 2026.
Throughout the day key themes emerged from all speakers including the importance of clear priorities and effective use of resource, data sharing, risk-based regulation, fraud prevention requirements from key players in the tech sector, AI, and the opportunities coming from the international landscape.
Our afternoon break-out sessions focused on anti-money laundering (AML), fraud, cross-cutting economic crime work, and sanctions.
They featured experts from across the industry, government and civil society and explored the following:
How the non-profit sector is driving fraud prevention together
Money Mules: The growing threat, solutions needed and action plans in place
Are firms doing too much? How to manage compliance fatigue and resource pressure
The FCA and MLROs on the Financial Crime Landscape
AML in focus: UK, EU And US Regulatory Directions
The migration of fraud post APP regulation – key threats and potential solutions
Making the most of private sector information sharing through ECCTA – optimising the information sharing provisions and maximising the benefits
Scenario planning: addressing geopolitical volatility and sanctions design
Preparing for the Financial Action Task Force’s Mutual Evaluation 2027: Are we leading on Risk-Based Supervision?
The role of the Tech and Telco sectors in preventing fraud and how sectors can work better together
The future of economic crime intelligence sharing – what will it look like in five years time
A sanctions year in review: government engagement and industry response
Here's a snapshot of some of the breakout sessions and what they discussed:
At our ‘AML in focus: UK, EU And US Regulatory Directions’ panel discussion, moderated by Anna Kostus, Managing Director, Financial Services, FTI Consulting, the panel, made up of speakers from Barclays, BNY and HM Treasury, explored upcoming changes in the UK’s supervisory regime, as well as upcoming Financial Action Task Force (FATF) evaluation of the UK.
Rob Woods, Director Market Planning F&I, Finance SME, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, our Headline Partner, moderated a panel discussion on ‘The role of the Tech and Telco sectors in preventing fraud and how sectors can work better together.’ The panel, featuring Ofcom, ABI, Amazon and UK Finance, explored the current legislation in place, what further action is needed by the tech and telco sectors to help prevent fraud, and collaborative strategies that have helped mitigate fraud on telco and tech platforms.
On ‘The future of economic crime intelligence sharing – what will it look like in five years time’ panel, moderated by David Biggin, Head of Risk and Regulation, PA Consulting, featured speakers from Barclays, NatWest, Standard Chartered and the NCA. The panel discussed current challenges with intelligence sharing, regulations and the future opportunities for firms and the industry.
On the ‘A sanctions year in review: government engagement and industry response’ panel, moderated by our Head of Sanctions Maria Nizzero, speakers from the FCDO Directorate, HM Treasury, Lloyds and HSBC reflected on the key sanctions events from this year, policy updates and the work of government.
This year, for the first time, delegates were able to attend our Knowledge Hub sessions, 10-minute interactive sessions with silent disco headphones for product demos, debates, and discussions. Topics delegates could listen to included ones on the work of the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit, Risk Perceptions, Privacy Enhancing Technologies for real-world intelligence sharing, and Inside the Dark Web.
In the afternoon we heard an illuminating fireside chat with the Rt Hon Baroness Hodge on her Anti-Corruption agenda and our Chair Bob Wigley. Our final panel discussion explored ‘Harnessing the power of AI across economic crime’ featuring Catherine Britton, Head of Fraud Risk, Starling Bank, Matt Brown, Group Head of Financial Crime Detection, HSBC, moderated by Jonathan Frost, Director, Global Advisory, Biocatch.
The day closed with a powerful ministerial keynote from Lucy Rigby KC MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, setting out the government’s priorities and underlining the importance of continued public-private collaboration.
Registration for the Economic Crime Congress 2026 is now open. Early bird tickets are available.
Next year's event will take place on Thursday 3 December 2026 at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London, and you can secure your place at the early bird rate for a limited period. We look forward to welcoming you again next year and continuing to build on the collaboration and shared purpose that made the Economic Crime Congress 2025 such a success.
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