Our Annual Report and Financial Statements have been published for 2024. This report highlights the key achievements of 2024, results and performance as well as governance, risk management and financial statements.

Supporting consumers and businesses

This month we published a brand-new report on the evolving landscape of the UK housing market for first-time buyers (FTB). Our report explores how intergenerational financial support is becoming an increasing driver in FTB activity and the impact this has on the broader UK housing market. 

In our recently published Monthly Economic Review, we explore labour market data, inflation expectations, the impact of recent US trade policy developments and the global outlook.

Delivering a high growth economy  

In May, we were delighted to welcome the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Growth Minister, Lord Spencer Livermore to our Capital Markets and Wholesale Board. Lord Livermore discussed with the Board how the financial services sector can work with the government to successfully deliver its growth mission, Industrial Strategy and the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy. Find out more about our capital markets work on our website.

We also continued our work on behalf of members to respond to various consultations including: 

Key consultations

• We responded to the HMT/DBT’s call for evidence on small businesses’ access to finance. Our response looks at supply and demand, personal guarantees and the regulatory environment, and is based on the data and evidence we collect from our members as well as independent sources, such as the SME Finance Monitor and Bank of England data.
• We responded to the Competition and Markets Authority’s call for evidence on its approach to merger remedies, providing our members’ preliminary views on each of the Remedy Themes.
• Our response to the Crime and Policing Bill Committee call for evidence sets out key reasons for amending the Bill to expand the definition of retail worker so that it includes staff working in high street banks and building societies.
• We responded to the FCA and PRA’s CP6/25 consultation paper (CP) on increasing the Loan to Income (LTI) flow limit de-minimis threshold for mortgage lenders.
• In our response to the Recapitalisation Bill CP4/25, we support proposals which promote financial stability and consumer protection, and outline our key recommendations for the PRA to consider.
• We responded to the government’s consultation on improving minimum energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector (PRS).

Preventing economic crime

This month we published our Annual Fraud Report 2025, which showed that criminals stole over £1 billion through payment fraud in 2024. There was a slight decline in authorised push payment (APP) fraud losses, but remote purchase fraud has increased, underscoring how criminals constantly change their tactics. 

From 12–18 May, our Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign ran its annual Take Five Week, coinciding with the FA Cup final. Football tactics were cleverly integrated into fraud prevention messaging through an online game, a new video, social media activations, media coverage, and in-person events at bank branches. A huge thank you to our members for supporting this initiative. 

The Take Five team also won two awards at the DataComms Awards last week, winning gold in the Best Data Insight from an Integrated Campaign category and the Grand Prix for their fraud prevention campaign activity in 2024.

Earlier this month we circulated a briefing ahead of the second reading of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill in the House of Lords, which generated significant traction from the Lords and saw several of our key points from the briefing cited. We will be engaging further with policymakers to drive momentum on these issues. 

Enabling digital innovation

Our Managing Director of Payments and Innovation Jana Mackintosh gave evidence at the Treasury Select Committee's session on artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in financial services. She highlighted the importance of achieving both innovation and effective risk management, fostering trust with consumers and creating an environment to drive innovation and growth. We share more on this work in our Generative AI report. 

The Cross Market Operational Resilience Group (CMORG) AI Taskforce published its AI Baseline Guidance Review. The Review provides insight on managing AI risk in the financial services sector, with a focus on Generative AI. As a member of the taskforce, alongside the City of London Corporation and FS-ISAC, we conducted a baseline review of existing Gen-AI risk mitigation guidance specific to the financial services sector and developed best practices for Gen-AI risk management. You can read the Review on our website.

Transitioning to Net Zero  

As government prepares for a raft of sustainability-related announcements, we are stepping up advocacy under the Transition to Net Zero workstream. On 19 May, we co-signed a letter to the Financial Times calling on the chancellor to maintain committed investment in green home improvements. This followed a meeting with Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh in late April, where our Sustainability policy team set out several actions that the government needs to take to increase demand for green home retrofit.

We are preparing responses to the Bank of England’s update to a supervisory statement on managing climate-related risks, and proposed amendments to international climate reporting standards to provide additional reliefs to financial services firms. We held a workshop for members on 27 May with international standards-setters and UK authorities to discuss the latter. We also expect the publication of several other major consultations on sustainable finance regulation in the coming months.

Upcoming events and training

We are excited to announce that the full agenda for our M&A Conference 2025 is now available. Join us on 7 July 2025 at Osborne Clarke, London, for a day of insightful discussions and networking with industry leaders. Whether you are a transaction party or an adviser navigating complex regulatory frameworks or shifting geopolitical and macro-economic trends, our M&A conference brings together the brightest minds and the latest insights on trends shaping the M&A landscape. Places are limited, so book early to secure your place.

We also have several upcoming training courses focusing on Prudential Risk, starting with our Masterclass: Emerging Risk on 2 June, and then a Masterclass: Risk and Control Self-Assessment (RCSAs) on 9 June. 

There are a few spots remaining for our AI Governance workshop on 3 June. This is a great opportunity to warm up to the Digital Innovation Summit 2025 on 24 June or to learn more about the benefits and risks of using AI in the financial services sector.