Practical guide

How to track FCA and PRA regulatory changes

To track changes from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), establish a set of official sources, distinguish new publications from changes to rule text, and give each relevant update a documented review. Email alerts help you discover publications. Your review connects them to the institution’s operations and next steps.

The workflow below is a practical starting point for a UK financial institution’s compliance team.

Start with the official sources

SourceWhat to use it for
FCA news and publications emailsReceive the FCA’s daily or weekly emails covering news and publications.
FCA publication guidanceUnderstand the different kinds of material the FCA publishes.
FCA HandbookConsult the relevant rules and guidance, alongside the publication announcing a change.
PRA publicationsFind prudential policy material and follow links to the documents relevant to your institution.
PRA RulebookCheck the applicable rule text alongside the related policy material.
Financial Services Regulatory Initiatives GridPlan for upcoming initiatives and indicative timelines across participating authorities.

The FCA offers daily and weekly news and publications emails. Its subscription page describes coverage including consultations, guidance, notices and decisions, alongside news. These are a useful free starting point for current awareness. FCA email subscriptions

The PRA publishes regulatory digests that bring together news and policy developments. Use these to review the period’s material and follow through to the original documents. Example: PRA Regulatory Digest, July 2026

Define what matters to your institution

Before reviewing individual updates, write down the institution profile against which you will assess them. Useful starting points include legal entity type, permissions, products, activities and the relationship between UK operations and the wider group.

For each source, record the publication categories your team wants to follow. A consultation, policy statement and supervisory statement can raise different review questions. The FCA’s publication guide explains its categories; PRA publication pages provide routes to its policy and supervisory material. FCA publication types, PRA publication routes

Keep this source inventory specific enough to use. “Monitor the FCA” is less useful operationally than a list of publication categories, links and a named person responsible for reviewing them.

Separate discovery from assessment

For every potentially relevant publication, capture its title, reference, source link and publication date. Then work through a short assessment:

  1. Identify the document. Is the regulator consulting, explaining its final policy, amending rules or communicating supervisory expectations?
  2. Read the scope. Which firms and activities does the document address? What exclusions or transitional provisions need checking?
  3. Assess relevance. Connect the scope to your institution’s operations. Record the reason for reviewing or setting aside the update.
  4. Identify the next step. Decide who should examine the detail and what evidence or input they need.
  5. Record the dates. Distinguish dates set by the regulator from your team’s internal targets.

These are suggested review steps. Their purpose is to make the reasoning visible when the update passes from Compliance to another team.

Keep different dates in separate fields

DateQuestion to answer
Publication dateWhen was this document issued?
Consultation closing dateWhen are responses requested?
Effective or implementation dateWhen does the relevant change apply?
Reporting deadlineWhen is a specified submission due, if one is required?
Internal review targetWhen does our team plan to complete its assessment?

A practical record preserves the wording and source for any external deadline. If a date depends on the firm’s circumstances or a supervisory arrangement, record that dependency. Set internal targets in a separate field so they remain distinguishable from the regulator’s dates.

For example, if your team sets a review meeting for the following Friday after receiving a consultation, that Friday is an internal target. The consultation’s closing date belongs in a different field. A proposed implementation date should retain its proposed status until the relevant final material is checked.

Use horizon scanning to plan ahead

The Regulatory Initiatives Grid provides a forward view of initiatives and their timing. It can help your team plan workload and identify topics to follow. Its timings may change, so follow the underlying publications as initiatives progress. Financial Services Regulatory Initiatives Grid

Keep future initiatives alongside a separate review of newly issued material. This lets the team prepare for an expected change while still assessing what has actually been published.

A checklist for your next regulatory review

Use this as a starter record in your existing review process:

FieldWhat to capture
PublicationTitle, regulator, reference and original URL
Document statusProposal, final policy, rule amendment or other publication type
VersionPublication/update date and any later material checked
RelevanceAffected activities and the reason it matters to your institution
PriorityYour assessment and its rationale
Review ownerPerson or team responsible for examining the update
Next stepSpecific review task or information needed
External datesRelevant dates and where the publication establishes them
Internal targetYour planned review date
Review outcomeDecision, reasoning and any follow-up

This is a suggested internal record, not a regulator-prescribed template.

Bringing the review into Comperse

Comperse monitors the FCA, PRA, Bank of England and other UK sources daily and sends daily email updates. Its assessments classify changes by severity, relate them to your institution’s entity type and operations, and highlight suggested actions and relevant deadlines with source links.

A walkthrough lets you inspect an assessment and discuss how the monitored sources relate to your institution’s review process.

Book a walkthrough ↗