2026 Regulatory Overview

The regulatory landscape in Financial Services is always changing. In 2025, it began changing quite dramatically in different regions at the same time. For international organizations that operate across multiple jurisdictions, it’s more likely than ever that they will need to consider drastically different Financial Services regulatory environments in each region and country in which they have a presence.

The big threats to banks and other financial organizations will be similar worldwide. Wherever your business operates, there will be friction this year borne of technical innovation, across cyber security, digital assets and AI.

Digital assets and cryptocurrency represent a still very young and rapidly developing new frontier for the global Finance community. In the USA, the GENIUS Act of 2025 created the first regulatory framework for stablecoins. The Treasury Department is still in the process of public consultation around what the final regulations will look like. Meanwhile, the CLARITY Act, which would establish regulations for a much broader array of digital assets, is still under review in the Senate, having passed the House back in July. Right now we can only speculate on if that act will become law and what it’s final form will be – but it’s very possible that we’re on the way to a more stable, more regulated digital asset economy in the US.

Financial institutions with an eye on the digital asset market will be keeping a close eye on any and all updates here, and the best case scenario could see a huge increase in consumer trust in these new areas. Horizon scanning will be vital here, as will running simulations and stress tests. It will be very important for firms that want to operate in this space to consider customer expectations and plan for appropriate recourse options.

The other type of technology that is going to impact all industries this year is Artificial Intelligence. A 2025 survey of 250 banking executives showed 70% of firms using agentic AI in some way, with 16% of those being full deployments. That report shows many banks are enthusiastic about the use of AI for fraud detection and security purposes – areas that it would of course be great to enhance, but which create huge risks for organizations. 63% of those banking leaders said the number one challenge they face in the use of AI is “managing governance, risk and compliance with confidence”.

There are clear data security and reputational risks to consider and right now, the technology is far ahead of the regulation. It’s very likely we will see new regulation on AI this year, but for now firms need to construct their own frameworks to regulate their AI use and mitigate the associated risks.

That framework will need to consider issues like unauthorized employee AI use and protecting customer and business data from public or third-party AI platform exposure – all of which will need to be thoroughly documented and audited to ensure risks are mitigated and controls are operating efficiently.

Globally, we’re seeing a lot of discussion around fair treatment of customers and positive customer outcomes, often linked to the FCA’s “Consumer Duty” in the UK. By contrast in the United States, we’re currently seeing a period of deregulation. In 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was dramatically scaled back, both in its workforce and regulatory agenda, focusing on adjustments to existing procedure over creating and enforcing rules.

But with or without specific regulations, customer expectations around service level and outcome are going to be crucial issues to consider this year. Customers are demanding more from their banks and financial services providers and failure to provide positive outcomes creates an immediate reputational risk.

We would encourage any banking or finance firm to consider how they can best prove that they are operating in their customer’s best interest. As part of this, many businesses will be looking to simplify the information they provide to customers, provide transparency on fee structures and closely examining any potentially unfair practices.

In my own conversations with senior Banking and Finance professionals, these are the topics that have been on their minds and that look likely to shape the regulatory narrative of 2026.

If your Financial Services business is concerned about governance, risk, compliance or financial crime issues, Kind Consultancy may be able to help. As niche recruiters with a focus on these specialisms, we can help you to secure game-changing specialist talent on a permanent or contract basis.

For a confidential conversation about your needs, contact me on lynsey.us@kindconsultancy.comor +1 (704) 663 6514