The UK’s financial and related professional services industry is at a critical juncture. With global competition intensifying and technology reshaping markets, standing still is no longer an option. In this episode, host Tessa Norman is joined by Miles Celic OBE, Chief Executive of TheCityUK, and Darren Ketteringham, PwC UK’s Financial Services Leader, to discuss insights from a new PwC and TheCityUK report on the future of the industry.

The conversation explores why bolder ambition, faster delivery and more decisive reform are essential to secure the UK’s leadership as a global financial centre for the next decade. Our guests unpack the report’s five imperatives for action – from leading at the frontier of financial technology, to building a nation of investors.

We also discuss the scale of the opportunity, with PwC modelling showing that acting decisively could unlock over £50bn in additional annual economic output by 2035.

Explore the full report here.

With the PRA’s PS20/24 rules requiring UK insurers to complete their first Solvent Exit Analysis by June 2026, this episode breaks down what solvent exit planning means in practice. Guest host and PwC Director Pete Thomas speaks with Directors Sarah Watson and James Cameron, and PwC’s Global Insurance Regulatory Leader Carlos Montalvo to explore: how the new regime fits within the UK’s evolving recovery and resolution framework; the international context; and lessons from real cases of insurer stress and failure.
Our expert guests discuss how firms can leverage existing ORSA, wind-down and resilience work; and how to overcome practical challenges around triggers, data, and operational readiness. We also unpack how effective solvent exit planning can unlock capital, sharpen decision-making under stress, and strengthen overall resilience.

Please contact peter.m.thomas@pwc.com if you’d like to discuss any of the issues covered.

To hear more from us on financial services risk & regulation, you can access all our regular publications at this site: https://www.pwc.co.uk/industries/financial-services/understanding-regulatory-developments.html.

In this episode, guest host Laura Talvitie, who leads PwC’s work on digital asset regulation, speaks with Jonny Fry, CEO of TeamBlockchain and Digital Bytes, and Daniel Dzenkowski, PwC’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework Lead.

Regulators, asset managers and technology providers are all exploring how tokenisation could redefine how funds and assets are structured, issued and traded. Against this backdrop, our guests discuss the UK’s evolving approach to fund tokenisation and the FCA’s consultation on this topic. They also explore the potential role of blockchain in financial markets and what firms should be doing now to prepare.