FCA’s Mills Review Sets 2030 AI Road Map, Flags Near-Term Risks

The UK Financial Conduct Authority commissioned Executive Director Sheldon Mills to examine how artificial intelligence could reshape retail financial services through 2030 and beyond. The review expects finance to shift from human-led, episodic interactions toward AI-enabled, continuous and delegated services. It says existing principles-based safeguards, including the Consumer Duty and Senior Managers Regime, provide a credible foundation, but could face growing pressure from autonomous systems, fraud, cyber threats and market concentration.

The FCA published the Mills Review on July 6, 2026, drawing on 140 written submissions and an April survey of more than 5,000 consumers. It issued seven recommendations after finding that 20%, or about 11 million UK adults, would consider using AI able to act autonomously within preset goals. The report calls for a review of general-purpose large language models outside the regulatory perimeter within three to six months. Jaywing said on Aug. 19 that the road map does not fully address immediate cybercrime or risks borne by lenders for third-party technology they do not control.