2026 Forward View My view is that 2026 in London FS will be a disciplined hiring year, not a dormant one. Headcount growth is likely to stay targeted, but the regulatory and operating environment
should keep a floor under demand. The most likely growth areas are:
• Operational resilience and third-party risk • Technology / cyber risk and tech audit • Compliance advisory linked to Consumer Duty, governance and product oversight • Senior internal audit hires who can cover change, data, cyber and culture • Control roles with AI, data and automation fluency Two regulatory developments matter in particular. First, firms are now beyond the 31 March 2025 operational resilience deadline, so 2026 will be less about framework design and more about evidence, testing, assurance and remediation. That tends to sustain demand across first line, second line and audit. Second, the FCA’s non-financial misconduct regime is due to bite from 1 September 2026, with final guidance published in December 2025. That is likely to sharpen demand for compliance, governance, HR-risk interface skills and culturally credible audit/risk leaders, especially in insurers and asset managers where expectations are being more closely aligned with banks. The broader backdrop still argues for caution. The FCA’s December 2025 Regulatory Initiatives Grid lists 124 live initiatives over the following two years, even after a 13% reduction from the prior edition. That is still a substantial pipeline. So, while boards are under pressure to support growth and efficiency, the aggregate effect for control functions is not deregulation in any simple sense; it is more targeted demand for fewer, stronger people.
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