BoE Governor Bailey urges AI use by financial regulators

Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey has urged regulators to embrace artificial intelligence to help detect problems in the financial system, adding that supervisors risk missing critical warning signs if they fail to leverage the technology.

Speaking at the London School of Economics, Bailey said watchdogs across the financial sector needed to invest “heavily in data and data science” to make sense of the vast quantities of information they already collect from banks, insurers and other firms.

“We’ve all got to invest heavily in data and data science, and techniques,” he said. “None of us, I think, can put our hand on our heart to say that we’re sort of optimally using it all.”

Bailey added that regulators may not make the most out of the data they collect due to a lack of usage. He said, “It also creates the danger for the authorities that you’ve got the evidence in the building and you haven’t been able to use it and it subsequently comes out that somewhere in your system was the smoking gun.”

Bailey spots a data challenge for supervisors

The BoE, along with other regulatory bodies such as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), gathers millions of data points annually from the firms it supervises. 

Bailey’s comments highlight a recurring challenge among supervisors, which is the fact that actionable insights may be missed when using manual analysis and reporting techniques. Adding AI to the fray may open the door for more insights to the data. 

Last year, the Bank of England’s own survey found that 75% of UK financial services firms already use some form of artificial intelligence, with another 10% planning adoption in the next three years. The most common applications include fraud detection, anti-money laundering checks, and cybersecurity monitoring.

Yet the report also flagged growing risks associated with the use of AI, one of which is data quality and data bias among others.

Resisting deregulation pressures

Bailey’s remarks also come amid political debate over the UK’s regulatory stance. In July, finance minister Rachel Reeves described financial rules as a “boot on the neck of businesses,” prompting Bailey to push back. 

He argued that efforts to boost the economy should not lead to a tone down of regulation as it can lead to risky behavior in the banking sector that could imperil the wider economy. “We can’t compromise on basic financial stability,” Bailey said.

Analysts note that regulators face a delicate balancing act, on the one hand, fostering innovation and competitiveness in the UK’s financial hub; on the other, safeguarding consumers and financial stability.

Opportunities for increased AI adoption 

While Bailey framed AI as an opportunity, experts caution that the technology is not a one-size-fits-all solution for the industry. AI systems can produce false positives, miss subtle anomalies, or embed biases that reflect flaws in underlying data. 

For regulators, it can be risky despite its merits, as they could either rely too heavily on opaque algorithms or fail to explain enforcement actions that stem from machine-driven insights.

A recent report showed that no UK bank ranks in the global top 10 for AI talent, underlining the skills gap regulators and industry alike must bridge. This gives credence to Bailey’s statement, and increased adoption may have to accelerate both in the public sector and in the private sector. 

However, it is also worthy to note that a recent survey by the Tony Blair Institute found that more Britons view AI as an economic risk than an opportunity, reflecting concerns over job losses, privacy, and fairness.