Navigating Compliance: Key Financial Regulations Through 2025 and Beyond

View Our Digital Regulatory Timeline for 2025 and Beyond here.

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This blog outlines some of the key upcoming regulations, their implications, and practical steps for financial firms to stay ahead.

Operational Resilience: Are You Ready?

2025 will see a significant push towards strengthening the financial sector’s resilience to operational and cyber risks. Key regulations include:

• UK’s Critical Third Party (CTP) Oversight Regime – Effective 1 January 2025.

• Operational Resilience Regulation – Effective 31 March 2025.

• EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) – Effective 17 January 2025.

These regulations focus on ensuring that critical service providers and financial firms can withstand and recover from disruptions. To comply, firms should enhance risk management, ICT security, and third-party oversight as well as develop and test incident response plans. Firms also ought to set impact tolerances and continuously improve resilience strategies.

Financial Resilience and Risk Management: Lessons Learnt

The implementation of new financial resilience regulations will bolster confidence and stability across the banking sector:

• UK’s Basel 3.1 – Effective 1 January 2026. Strengthens capital requirements, risk management, and transparency.  

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Banks must assess and close gaps in their capital monitoring, risk management, and reporting models.

Reporting: It’s All About the Quality

The focus on improving reporting quality and governance continues globally:

• UK and EU Reporting Updates – Including MiFID II and EMIR Refit.

• Regional Frameworks – CSA Rewrite in Canada and HKMA & SFC Rewrite in Hong Kong.

• New UK Consumer Credit Product Reporting – Effective 2025, requiring detailed reporting on product sales and performance.

Firms must strengthen data management processes and adopt advanced technologies whilst ensuring robust governance structures and senior management oversight.

‍Payments: Regulation and Standards Updates

The payments landscape will see modernisation and increased efficiency through:

• EU Instant Payments Regulation – Real-time processing.

• ISO 20022 Adoption – For CHAPS and CBPR+.

• UK’s New Payments Architecture – Promoting innovation and resilience.

These updates require firms to implement richer data formats and enhanced compliance measures to prevent fraud and ensure security.

The Race for Efficiency: Preparing for CSDR Refit and T+1 Settlement

The CSDR Refit introduces significant changes to the EU’s settlement discipline regime, effective from 2025. Additionally, the transition to a T+1 settlement cycle (proposed by the end of 2027) aims to improve market integration and efficiency. Firms must coordinate substantial operational adjustments to meet these requirements.

Artificial Intelligence: In Focus

The EU AI Act introduces a risk-based framework for regulating AI systems. Firms whose AI impacts EU citizens must ensure compliance with strict standards around security, privacy, and responsible usage. The Act emphasises security and privacy, with major provisions enforced by August 2026. Non-compliance could result in penalties of up to €35 million or 7% of global turnover.

Digital Assets: Further Clarity

The crypto-asset landscape will continue to evolve in 2025, with stricter compliance standards aimed at enhancing market stability and investor confidence:

• EU MiCAR – Ongoing implementation. 1^st July 2026 deadline for entities benefitting from transitional measures to acquire authorisation.

• UK Consultations and Rule-making – As outlined in the FCA Crypto-Asset Roadmap. Final rules expected 2026.

These regulations may increase operational costs but are expected to attract more institutional investors, fostering long-term growth.

Investments: AIFMD II and MiFID II Updates

• AIFMD II – 16 April 2026 is the initial deadline for the revised EU Fund regime. Enhances investor protection and market stability by strengthening transparency, risk management, and cross-border fund distribution within the EU.

• MiFID II and MiFIR Updates – Effective 29 September 2025. These amendments introduce a consolidated tape for market data and streamline trading and reporting rules.
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ESG: Avoid Greenwashing

The EU and UK continue to push for greater transparency and accountability in sustainability practices:

• EU CSRD and SFDR – Effective 2026. Detailed ESG disclosures are mandatory.

• UK Sustainability Disclosure Requirements – Effective 1^st January 2026. Firms must ensure accurate reporting to avoid greenwashing claims.

Businesses should invest in robust data collection and reporting systems to meet these compliance requirements.

Conclusion: Staying Ahead of the Curve

The regulatory landscape for 2025 and beyond demands proactive preparation and adaptation. Firms must not only comply with upcoming deadlines but also embed resilience, transparency, and innovation into their operations. Key steps include:

1. Reviewing and updating risk management, reporting, and data governance frameworks.

2. Investing in advanced technologies to support compliance and operational efficiency.

3. Building agility into compliance strategies to anticipate future regulatory changes.

By taking these steps, firms can navigate the evolving regulatory landscape confidently, ensuring stability, security, and long-term growth.

The team at Delta Capita support clients stay ahead through:

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Proactive Compliance: Our teams constantly scan the horizon to assess the impacts new and changes to existing regulations bring for our clients. Our SMEs can advise clients on the most optimal compliance approaches and policies across, often competing for budget, regulatory obligations.  

Technology Adoption: We help our clients identify, select, and adopt the latest and cutting-edge technology solutions to help with their Regulatory Compliance and Risk Management from automation and robotics to AI and digital assets.

But most importantly, DC work closely with regulators, industry peers and associations to help promote active collaboration to find joint answers to industries most pressing regulatory challenges.

This article and our annual regulatory timeline were created by Karan Kapoor, Claire Suttie, James Stallan and Francesca Brookes.

You can view our regulatory timeline here or get in touch today to have a chat with our regulatory team.

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