Regulatory Compliance in 2025: Change, Caution and What Comes Next
As we move through 2025 and look to 2026, it’s a good time to see what has changed in the regulatory compliance market and how financial services firms are navigating shifting expectations, emerging rules, and growing scrutiny across every function, from conduct and culture to technology and ESG.
Throughout this period of transition, one constant has remained: sustained demand for compliance, risk, and financial crime expertise. For employers, this underscores the need not just to make individual hires, but to build sustainable, resilient teams that can flex with changing market demands.
Market Trends and Drivers
- Hiring Growth in Risk, Compliance, and Financial Crime
Demand for compliance and risk professionals remains robust across financial services. Hiring growth has been strongest in areas such as fraud prevention, financial crime, and cyber risk, driven by increasing regulatory scrutiny, the expansion of financial crime frameworks, and new operational resilience requirements.
This activity is not confined to London. Firms are increasingly “nearshoring” compliance and control functions to regional hubs, creating new concentrations of opportunity across the UK. - Fintech, Payments, and Challenger Banking
Regulatory attention on fintech and challenger banks has intensified in 2025. As digital payments and AI-driven services expand, firms have had to strengthen compliance infrastructure more rapidly than planned. Challenger banks and payments firms are building teams with deeper governance, financial crime, and operational resilience capability to meet growing expectations from the FCA. - Salaries and Retention Pressures
While salary inflation has steadied, compliance and financial crime remain among the best-rewarded disciplines in financial services. Employers continue to compete on more than just pay: flexible working, professional development, and career progression all contribute to candidate retention. Regulatory Frameworks in Transition
The pace of regulatory change remains steady but uneven. Key areas of focus include:• FSMA 2023 reforms – Implementation is progressing gradually, with attention now turning to secondary legislation and the regulator’s evolving supervisory model.
• Consumer Duty – Firms continue to adapt governance and oversight frameworks to evidence fair value and positive consumer outcomes.
• Operational Resilience – The March 2025 compliance deadline has embedded resilience as a core regulatory principle, driving demand for talent in cyber risk, IT governance, and vendor management.
- Culture, Conduct, and D&I
While diversity and inclusion are still important concerns, regulators have shifted their approach. Instead of prescriptive targets, emphasis is now placed on conduct and culture. The FCA’s forthcoming Non-Financial Misconduct (NFM) regime, due in 2026, will make workplace behaviour a regulatory concern, making cultural alignment an essential compliance consideration for employers, while shifting the focus from quotas. - ESG and Sustainable Finance
Progress in ESG regulation has been cautious. The UK has prioritised alignment with international frameworks such as ISSB and EU rules including SFDR and DORA, rather than developing additional domestic standards. Nonetheless, sustainability continues to influence governance expectations, risk management, and reporting structures - areas that are seeing steady, if not rapid, job creation. - Technology and RegTech Integration
Although regulatory reform has been measured, technological transformation continues at pace. Firms are deploying automation and AI in transaction monitoring, KYC/AML, and reporting. This shift is driving demand for compliance professionals who understand both regulatory frameworks and digital systems. People who can bridge the gap between governance and innovation are in demand.
Implications for Employers
The regulatory environment has become more complex, interconnected, and technology-driven. Employers are responding by rethinking how they structure, resource, and retain compliance talent. At Core-Asset Consulting we believe that success now depends not just on hiring well, but on building adaptive frameworks that can evolve alongside regulation. The following five areas will help firms achieve this:
- Build Bench Strength
Sustainable compliance teams are built on depth and balance, combining experienced leaders, business-as-usual expertise, and interim specialists to manage peaks in demand. - Adopt Hybrid Hiring Models
Firms increasingly blend permanent, contract, and interim resource to ensure flexibility and access to niche skills. Retained search remains essential for senior and hard-to-fill positions - Think Nationally
Compliance talent is no longer London-centric. Nearshoring and regional expansion mean that national reach across cities such as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham is key to securing the best professionals. - Prioritise Cultural Alignment
With the NFM regime approaching, cultural fit is becoming a regulatory as well as organisational priority. Firms need to ensure new hires embody the right values and behaviours, not just technical competence. - Invest in Technology Capability
RegTech and AI adoption in compliance will only accelerate. Employers who upskill teams to combine regulatory expertise with digital literacy will be best placed to manage risk efficiently.
Looking Ahead: 2026 and Beyond
The coming year will bring further regulatory evolution, including:
- Non-Financial Misconduct rules embedding culture and conduct into supervision.
- ESG alignment with global standards and enhanced scrutiny of greenwashing.
- Digital supervision, as regulators use data analytics more actively.
Despite a cautious regulatory environment, opportunity remains strong for both employers and professionals who plan ahead.
Core-Asset’s Perspective
At Core-Asset Consulting, our work with clients across the UK shows that successful compliance hiring depends on foresight and flexibility. We help firms:
- Build resilient compliance benches that combine permanent and interim expertise.
- Source and deploy talent across the UK and Ireland.
- Plan succession and reduce single-person dependencies.
- Align culture and skills to meet both regulatory and business expectations.
This approach creates long-term value, strengthening compliance capability and ensuring firms are ready for what’s next.
Conclusion
2025 has reinforced how critical compliance and risk functions are to the health of the financial services industry. While regulatory reform has progressed unevenly, demand for compliance, financial crime, and operational resilience expertise continues to rise.
Firms that invest now in balanced, adaptive teams will be best placed to navigate 2026’s challenges and to thrive in a market where resilience, culture, and conduct are at the heart of regulatory success.
Read more of our insights in the 2025 Salary Guide.