In April 2019, the FCA published its 2019/20 Business Plan. We summarise that plan in the table available via this link (and in a second table linked to further below). The plan sets out the FCA's response to issues it has identified and covers supervisory priorities as well as market studies and policy work. 

Cross-sector priorities

The uppermost headings in the table are: Immediate Issues, Continuing Priorities and Strategic Challenges. These are categories of issues that the FCA has identified as cutting across multiple sectors regulated by the FCA, being the most significant issues in financial services and which are likely to span multiple years. 

The next set of headings in the table refers to the eight cross-sector priorities by which the FCA defines its work (which will impact on multiple sectors in the coming year) and to seven market sectors. 

Under this second-level heading, the body of the table summarises the work planned to address each cross-sectoral issue.  

This second table summarises key planned activities and priorities in these seven market sectors.

Opportunities and threats from technology

A key theme throughout the plan is the double-edged sword of advances in technology in financial services. On the one hand, there are potential advantages from changing technology (increased consumer choice, reduced costs, use of technology to reduce financial crime, etc.). On the other, some caution is appropriate regarding potential challenges (cyber-attacks, data ethics, access for older customers etc.), which must be mitigated.