Where AI overlaps with financial services regulation

Early next year the UK’s Office for AI will release a white paper on governing and regulating artificial intelligence. This may pave the way towards a UK AI Act, perhaps following in the footsteps of the regulatory superstructure for AI that has been put forward in the EU.

But even if cross-sectoral regulation is on the way, that is not to say that AI is unregulated today. Various laws may apply such as equality legislation, consumer protection rules and data protection regulations. And sector-specific regulation could be relevant too. In financial services, for example, any deployment of AI requires careful consideration of the existing regulatory framework.

In this article, Sophia Le Vesconte and Simon Treacy pick out some examples of how AI interacts with the UK financial services regime. Broad principles apply, such as requirements to treat customers fairly and manage risks effectively. Other more specific regulations could also be relevant, for example in the context of algorithmic trading. And then there is the question of what steps senior managers should be taking to oversee AI when it is used in the part of the business for which they are responsible.