Who are we?

The Bank of England is responsible for supervising certain financial market infrastructures in the UK

In this section

The Bank of England is responsible for supervising certain financial market infrastructures in the UK. FMIs are a vital part of the economy. 

This section refers to the Bank's functions as FMI regulator.

Our objectives

Our financial stability objective is to protect and enhance the stability of the financial system of the United Kingdom. This continues to underpin all the Bank’s work overseeing CCPs, CSDs and payment systems. 

The FSMA 2023 framework has introduced new obligations and accountabilities for the Bank in respect of its CCP and CSD functions. These include a new secondary objective requiring the Bank, so far as reasonably possible, to act in a way which facilitates innovation in the provision of FMI services (including in the infrastructure used for that purpose). This is with a view to improving the quality, efficiency, and economy of their services.

FSMA 2023 also introduces the requirement that when exercising its FMI functions (as defined in statue) in a way that advances the Financial Stability Objective (and subject to that), the Bank must have regard to: (1) specified regulatory principles; (2) the effect that the Bank’s regulation will or may have on the financial stability of other countries or territories in which CCPs and CSDs are established or provide services; and (3) the desirability of regulating CCPs and CSDs in a way that is not determined by whether the users of their services are located in the UK or elsewhere.

FMIs we supervise

We supervise certain financial market infrastructures that are based in, or operate in, the UK.

Our governance and accountability

As well as granting new powers, FSMA 2023 also enhances the Bank’s transparency and accountability framework for its FMI functions, to a level aligned to those of other financial regulators like the PRA and FCA. They include:

  • FMI Committee - this committee makes the Bank's most important decisions on financial market infrastructure
  • Carrying out, and publishing our approach to cost benefit analysis (CBA), which will be scrutinised by an independent CBA Panel
  • Greater oversight by Parliamentary committees, including submitting consultations to committees when they are published, responding to representations made by committees, and explaining how those representations have been considered.

Who we work with

We work with domestic and overseas regulators to supervise FMIs.

We have a memorandum of understanding with the FCA on supervising FMIs. We also have a MoU with the FCA, PSR and PRA that covers the supervision of payment systems.

We have MoUs with relevant home authorities as part of our supervision of recognised non-UK FMIs. See the Governance and funding page.

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This page was last updated 19 October 2026