The Future of AI Governance & Compliance in Financial Services

Overview

AI adoption across financial services is accelerating, but most institutions are still in a phase of experimentation. As AI systems become embedded in core processes, expectations around oversight, documentation, and risk management are changing fast. This project seeks to understand where AI governance is heading over the next 1-5 years.

The study will be guided by the insights of senior leaders in compliance, risk, model governance and AI innovation/strategy across financial institutions. The work is explicitly vendor-neutral and focused on sector-wide governance insights.

Our aim is to produce a clear, evidence-based and forward-looking assessment of what effective AI governance and compliance will look like in UK and EU financial services.

Contributors

This research initiative is co-ordinated by Zango, and supported by independent contributors specialising in AI governance, financial-system risk, and technology law.

Sam Green

Research Coordinator

Leading Zango’s policy and partnerships initiatives.

Sam previously led policy teams in the UK Government, including within DSIT’s AI Regulation Unit, and served as Head of Transparency in the Security & Online Harms Directorate, overseeing regulatory reporting, audits and compliance work.

Andrew Sutton

Research Contributor

Focused on AI governance and financial-system risk, including ways in which frontier AI may cause aspects of the financial system to fail.

Andrew is a Research Affiliate at the Oxford Martin School AI Governance Initiative and affiliated with the Centre for the Governance of AI (GovAI).

Dr Alessio Azzutti

Research Contributor

Interdisciplinary scholar at the intersection of law, finance, and emerging technologies - with a focus on AI governance.

Alessio is a lecturer in Law & Technology at the University of Glasgow, Co-Investigator in the Innovate UK–funded Financial Regulation Innovation Lab, and Managing General Editor of the Banking & Finance Law Review.

Follow project updates

Areas of focus. We are exploring the following key themes through our research:

AI adoption

Where and how financial institutions are deploying AI - and what’s accelerating or slowing adoption.

The impact of AI

How AI is reshaping day-to-day compliance and risk work, and the capabilities organisations now need.

Governance readiness

How institutions are adapting their governance frameworks today to manage emerging AI systems and regulatory expectations.

The future of AI governance

The shifts, uncertainties, and longer-term questions that will shape AI governance over the next 5 years.

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How we're approaching the research

Qualitative interviews

Interviews with senior leaders in compliance, risk, model governance and AI strategy across UK and EU financial institutions.

Academic input

Independent expertise spanning AI governance, financial-system risk, and technology law, ensuring the research is grounded in rigorous analysis.

Evidence-based

Drawing from AI-usage surveys, emerging capabilities, benchmarks, and public reporting on sector-specific AI models.