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.

City & Financial Global was delighted to announce its fifth annual Payments Regulation and Innovation Summit which took place on 2 February 2026.

This one-day conference brought together UK industry leaders, regulators, and innovators to address the specific challenges and opportunities facing the UK market. From navigating FCA requirements to leveraging the UK's world-leading open banking infrastructure, attendees will gain practical insights and strategic frameworks tailored to the UK regulatory environment and competitive landscape.

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.

The EU AI Act was the first comprehensive model for the regulation of AI to be introduced internationally (other than China’s AI regulation, which had a different objective). It takes a prescriptive, rules-based approach and covers both the providers and users of AI technologies. It is extra-territorial in its reach, although how this might be enforced is not yet clear. In recognition of how quickly AI technology is developing, those drafting the legislation have tried to build in a degree of flexibility, but this is likely to be limited by the fact that it is rules-based.

The summit brought together an exceptional panel of experts to provide practical guidance about how both providers and corporate users of AI should be preparing now for the introduction of this far-reaching piece of legislation.

While the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) to society, including the business community, are enormous, there has been a great deal of focus recently on how best AI models should be regulated to avoid any potential adverse consequences.

City & Financial Global’s timely global summit on this subject brought together some of the foremost experts to consider the various regulatory approaches that are being adopted internationally, the key legal issues involved in AI and how regulation can be coordinated at a supranational level to avoid regulatory arbitrage.