The chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said companies need to make sure their technology is resilient to breaches and failure.
Speaking at the regulator's annual public meeting this morning (11 September), Andrew Bailey said operational resilience was an increasing focus for the FCA.
Mr Bailey's remarks come after a series of technology failings at financial services companies, including the replatformings at Aegon and Aviva, as well as the migration at TSB.
He said there were two types of risk in this category: the risk of breaches and the risk which arise from the "greater complexity of operational platforms and frameworks which can lead to disruption for consumers when things go wrong".
Mr Bailey said: "The impact of this type of risk is greater in an environment where consumers rely more on machines."
Mr Bailey also addressed the issue of Britain's departure from the European Union, saying the FCA was "committed" to keeping its relationships with international regulators regardless of the UK's membership.
He added that the FCA's investigation into the outcomes of the HBOS report was ongoing, but had been delayed by the fact someone had come forward with a large amount of evidence which needed to be reviewed.
Mr Bailey said he found this delay "frustrating".
The FCA had already been forced to deny kicking the HBoS top brass probe into the long grass at its previous annual public meeting last July.
HBoS, once the UK's biggest mortgage lender, suffered a devastating collapse during the 2008 credit crunch - and taxpayers were left to foot the £20.5bn bill.
The FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority decided to start investigations into certain former Halifax Bank of Scotland senior managers in the beginning of 2016.
damian.fantato@ft.com
