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Emerging themes in financial regulation & Disputes

Welcome to BCLP’s Emerging Themes

Understanding financial regulation and enforcement trends in 2026 makes predicting the weather look straightforward.

While much has been made of the trend towards deregulation and dampened enforcement activity, this is unlikely to translate into more certainty and less complexity for financial organizations in the year ahead. In fact, many will be tested by risk factors outside their control and growing accountability.

We forecast a pivotal year for investigations and enforcement, with pressure building on three fronts — politics, people and technology.

Forecasting change in 2026

Our latest insights and opinions

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Emerging Themes
5 min read
U.S. Securities Enforcement: Our predictions for 2026
Consistent with patterns from past administrations, we expect U.S. securities enforcement to accelerate modestly in 2026. The SEC and FINRA will likely focus increasingly on cases about foreign actors, artificial intelligence (AI), and other emerging technologies, alongside traditional areas of enforcement with an emphasis on addressing investor harm.
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Emerging Themes
8 min read
Rebalancing risk to unlock growth: How financial services regulation will shape the economy in 2026
Financial services sit at the heart of the UK government’s modern Industrial Strategy. Designated as one of eight “growth-driving sectors”, it is expected to play a central role in supporting economic growth – yet it faces intensifying global competition from alternative financial centres worldwide.
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Emerging Themes
2 min read
Non-financial misconduct checklist
Are you ready for the FCA’s new rules on non-financial misconduct? Use our checklist now to make sure your organisation is ready.
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People
Culture and conduct under one umbrella
The addition of non-financial conduct rules and changes to the Senior Managers regime in the UK is concentrating risk around personal behavior and individual liability. After a brief reprieve from bankers’ bonus backlash, culture and governance are back in the spotlight.
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Politics
Prevailing winds
More than ever, rising political temperatures will see regulation and enforcement used as tools to advance government agendas. But it’s not a simple story of deregulation. The remit of financial regulators is set to widen to encompass growing digital risk, alongside a more focused set of enforcement priorities on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Technology
Where clouds gather
Systemic risk from technology infrastructure will become more extreme in 2026, as the sector normalizes digital assets and accelerates transformation. Proposals to bring tech companies under FCA oversight won’t absolve financial organizations from responsibility on their handling of outages, online fraud, AI-related harm and cyber incidents.
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Technology
Turf Social: a developing regulatory relationship
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Transparency
Updates to the FCA’s and PRA’s “to do” list

An action plan for growth, simplification, and reform

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Transparency
Unnecessary, unfair and unclear
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Transparency
FINRA Under Trump 2.0: Days of Future Past?
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Transparency
The impact of flexible SEC sanctions on defendants
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Transparency
The top 5 banking litigation cases from 2024

Looking back to look forward

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See our previous editions

We're proud that our annual Emerging Themes in Financial Regulation & Disputes publication dates back to 2010. Each year we have been providing you with updates and insights from our financial services lawyers considering the latest trends, risks, and areas of opportunity in financial services.

Previous editions

Meet our global practice co-leaders

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Polly James
Partner and Global Practice Co-Leader - Financial Services Disputes and Investigations, London

polly.james@bclplaw.com
+44 (0) 20 3400 3158

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Christine Cesare

Christine Cesare
Partner and Global Practice Co-Leader - Financial Services Disputes and Investigations, New York

christine.cesare@bclplaw.com
+1 212 541 1228

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