The year 2026 is a critical "turning point" for AI regulation because it marks the transition from theoretical legal framework to active enforcement. While previous years focused on drafting laws, 2026 is when significant global regulations - most notably the EU AI Act - become legally binding for many organisations. For businesses it means the end of the "wait and see" period and the organisations must now learn to navigate the complexities of international AI policies.

Building on the success of City & Financial Global's Data & AI events portfolio over the years, we are pleased to invite you to our upcoming Agentic AI for Leaders Summit, an unparalleled gathering of business leaders, policy makers, and AI experts scheduled to take place in Central London on 17 September this year.

Chaired by Niresh Rajah, Chief Data & AI Officer, Chair – UK AI for Financial Services, Fellow at Imperial College and Associate Fellow at Oxford University, this event is designed to equip UK businesses with the knowledge and strategies to navigate and build on the transformative power of Agentic AI.

Since ChatGPT arrived on the scene a few years ago, there has been a lot of hype about the potential of AI to transform financial services. However, financial institutions are now implementing numerous real-world applications of Gen AI and are tentatively exploring the next phase of AI, Agentic AI. What are the current and future use cases of AI in the financial sector? Which global problems might AI solve and in what timeframe? What progress has been made in developing International governance, regulation and standards for AI? Turning to the experts, where do AI leaders think we will be in 5- and 10-years’ time? And finally, the arrival of AI has increased the focus on cybersecurity, as AI has increased cyber threats – are boards sufficiently focused on cybersecurity and operational resilience?

2026 will be a pivotal year for the financial sector. The convergence of advanced data strategies and transformative artificial intelligence is fundamentally rewriting the rules of banking, asset management, insurance, and FinTech. AI is set to automate over a third of manual processes, from data processing to reconciliation, driving exceptional efficiency gains. The next frontier is the deployment of AI agents - autonomous systems - that will revolutionize back-office operations and redefine the customer experience through human-centric, empathetic automation.

Leading policymakers, AI industry pioneers, innovative corporates and expert lawyers gathered for the UK’s premier event on the regulation of artificial intelligence. The AI Regulation Summit offered a unique platform for in-depth discussion on the evolving landscape of AI governance, compliance, and best practice — tailored specifically to the needs and opportunities of the UK.

Chaired by Vivienne Artz OBE, Senior Data Strategy and Privacy Policy Advisor to Centre for Information Policy Leadership, this timely global summit brought together government officials, regulators and top industry experts to share best practice for achieving optimal business outcomes with data and AI in respect of people, process, and technology.

The programme provided  a comprehensive update on the UK Data (Use and Access) Bill and the UK Government’s evolving data and AI strategy. The expert speaker faculty explored how data privacy and regulatory compliance can act as catalysts for innovation, while ensuring its safe and responsible integration with the evolving regulatory regime.

This summit explored the real-world applications of Gen AI for financial institutions and the huge potential for the industry of the next phase of AI, Agentic AI. It also provided a detailed analysis of all the related issues, including regulation, data governance, AI infrastructure, the impact on financial markets and specific financial products, international developments and risk management. Top AI experts will share their insights, global regulators will discuss emerging AI regulation and financial services leaders will discuss current and  future AI applications.

This timely global summit brought together some of the top experts to consider the various regulatory approaches that are being adopted internationally, the key legal issues involved in AI and how regulation is being coordinated at a supranational level to avoid regulatory arbitrage.

The programme provided a comprehensive update on the AI Bill and the UK Government’s new approach to AI Regulation. In addition, it also explored how AI regulation is likely to evolve in the UK in the years to come and best practice risk management approaches for both providers and users of AI systems.

Generative AI has already led to many use cases in financial services. However, the real potential may lie in next generation AI. At this summit, top AI experts shared their insights on this, global regulators discussed emerging AI regulation and financial services leaders discussed current and future AI applications, model risk management, and governance and ethical issues.