Enforcement Decision Making Committee Report 2025/26

Foreword

This is the seventh report of the Enforcement Decision Making Committee (EDMC) of the Bank of England (the Bank), covering the period of 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026. Earlier reports are available on the Bank’s website. The EDMC was set up by the Bank in August 2018 to perform similar functions to those performed by the Regulatory Decisions Committee of the Financial Conduct Authority.

The purpose of the EDMC is to strengthen the enforcement processes of the Bank through the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) by ensuring a functional separation in contested enforcement cases between the investigation teams and executive on the one hand, and decision-makers on the other. The essence of the system is that decisions coming out of investigations are taken by the EDMC independently. The process is designed to operate fairly and transparently, providing for disclosure of relevant material to the subject of an investigation, and allowing for written and oral representations by both the subject and the Enforcement & Litigation Division of the Bank. It is the final stage of administrative decision-making by the Bank in contested enforcement cases. Beyond this, the subject has the right to refer the matter to the Upper Tribunal (which is part of the UK Court system), which considers the matter afresh.

The EDMC also has duties as regards to settled cases, in respect of which it conducts a review to assess the ongoing fairness and effectiveness of the PRA’s settlement process. The parties and their legal representatives who have participated in settlement discussions are invited to comment should they wish to do so. Such a review took place in respect of two cases during the current period. Following the review, the EDMC is not proposing any recommendations.

I was appointed the first Chair of the EDMC, and this report will be my last as the Committee sees all its originally appointed members reach the end of their terms. These were originally fixed at two terms of three years, increased to five years in 2024. Three new members were appointed in June 2024, and the remaining members including the incoming Chair and Deputy Chair will be appointed in summer 2026.

We would like to say that in our experience, the independence of the EDMC in its decision making has been rigorously respected by the Bank. An essential aspect of our work is the administrative support given by the Secretariat, and the legal support given by the independent legal adviser appointed from within the Bank’s Legal Directorate. On behalf of the Committee, I would like to pay tribute to the quality of that support. I would also like to thank Dr Philip Marsden, the Deputy Chair, and all the members, each of whom has been unsparing in the giving of their expertise and good judgment to the EDMC in fulfilling its functions. These are important, not only to the firms and individuals subject to enforcement action, but to the financial system as a whole.

Sir William Blair

Chair, Enforcement Decision Making Committee

1: Overview

1.1 The EDMC is a committee of the Bank. It was established by the Bank’s Court of Directors (Court) in August 2018 to help the Bank discharge its responsibilities and strengthen its enforcement processes by ensuring a functional separation between the Bank’s investigation teams and the Bank’s decision-makers in contested enforcement cases.^{footnote [1]}

1.2 The EDMC acts within the statutory regimes operated by the Bank for: (a) prudential regulation; (b) financial market infrastructure (FMI); (c) resolution; (d) securitisation; (e) wholesale cash distribution and; (f) critical third parties. The EDMC also acts in Scottish and Northern Ireland (S&NI) Banknote Regime enforcement cases, pursuant to the relevant policy.

1.3 The EDMC’s published procedures require it to submit an annual statement to Court, with a copy also provided to the Prudential Regulation Committee (PRC). Subject to applicable disclosure restrictions, it will subsequently be published, to report on at least the following:

• how often the Committee has met and which members have sat in which matters;
• resourcing, recruitment, and profile;
• costs incurred;
• number of matters brought to it from the PRA, FMI, and Resolution, and in respect of the S&NI banknote regime, respectively;
• number of statutory notices respectively dealt with;
• whether the EDMC’s decisions have been subject to subsequent successful challenge;
• situations where a member was unable to hear a matter because of an actual or perceived conflict;
• any other matters which Court considers relevant to the operation of the Committee and of which it informs the EDMC Chair; and
• any other matters which the Committee feels it needs to bring to Court's attention.

1.4 This document sets out the report for the period from 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026. The Annex deals specifically with each item listed in paragraph 1.3.

2: Membership

2.1 EDMC members are appointed for a fixed five-year period, renewable once. The EDMC currently comprises eight members, with legally qualified members appointed as Chair and Deputy Chair, in line with its procedures. Six members’ second terms were extended in 2024 to align with the five-year terms (introduced in January 2024), which means their terms will end in 2026. During the reporting period one EDMC member stepped down from their role due to other commitments, leaving five members whose terms will now end in 2026. Three members were recruited in June 2024 and are currently serving their first terms which will end in June 2029. The recruitment of these members in 2024 will help to preserve the continuity of experience and expertise on the Committee by ensuring that not all of the members’ terms expire at the same time.

2.2 In October 2025, the Bank commenced recruitment for additional EDMC members, to join the committee in summer 2026. This will include the appointment of a new Chair and Deputy chair, as the current Chair and Deputy chair’s terms conclude in July 2026.

2.3 The current members of the EDMC are:

• Sir William Blair (Chair)
• Dr Philip Marsden (Deputy Chair)
• Anne Heal
• Mark Hoban
• Harry Matovu KC
• Dame Clare Moulder DBE
• Edward Sparrow
• Pauline Wallace

3: Cases

3.1 The EDMC Chair convenes panels of at least three members to hear cases. Panels are supported by a secretariat function to provide administrative support, and a legal adviser from the Bank’s Legal Directorate. The legal adviser is independent from the Bank’s investigation teams.

3.2 Multiple cases were concluded during the period covered by this report. There have been no other cases referred to the EDMC during the reporting period.

3.3 The EDMC Procedures set out how the EDMC takes decisions.

4: Upper Tribunal proceedings

4.1 The subject of a decision by the EDMC has the right to refer the case to the Upper Tribunal (which is part of the UK Court system). These proceedings are not a matter for the EDMC; the relevant team within the Bank deals with such matters. The Upper Tribunal considers the matter afresh; in other words, it reaches its own determination on the matter and may hear such evidence as it sees fit in order to do so.

4.2 In the reporting period, there have been no decision notices referred to the Upper Tribunal.

5: General matters

Non-case specific meetings

5.1 In addition to the EDMC’s work on specific cases, it has quarterly meetings to discuss matters of broader interest to the work it carries out. These matters have included relevant regulatory frameworks, engagement with the Bank’s Legal Directorate, and administrative matters. Further such meetings are scheduled during 2026.

Conflicts of interest

5.2 Members are required to declare actual or potential conflicts of interest prior to appointment, and any that arise after appointment. These are declared to the EDMC Chair and the Bank’s Conflicts Officer, who then take any appropriate action necessary to manage such actual and/or potential conflicts. During the period covered by this report, no situation has arisen where a member has been unable to hear a matter because of a conflict.

6: Review of the enforcement settlement process

6.1 As set out in the Bank’s approach to enforcement: statutory statements of policy and procedure the EDMC has responsibility for conducting periodic reviews of settled enforcement cases, to assess the ongoing fairness and effectiveness of the PRA’s settlement processes. As part of these reviews, the EDMC seeks comments from subjects who have settled PRA enforcement cases, relevant enforcement staff, and relevant PRA decision-makers involved in settlement. The outcome of each review is reported to the PRC and Financial Market Infrastructure Committee (FMIC) and a summary of the review is (if appropriate) included in the next EDMC annual report.

6.2 During the 2025/26 reporting period, the EDMC reviewed feedback on two settled cases. Overall, the feedback did not raise any material issues and the EDMC did not make any recommendations to the PRC or FMIC. There were positive reports regarding the efficiency and fairness of the settlement processes, which have been passed on to the relevant enforcement teams and to the PRC and FMIC.

7: Looking forward – the next 12 months

7.1 The EDMC will undertake reviews of any cases settled during 2026 and will consider any contested cases referred in accordance with the EDMC Procedures. In addition, the EDMC continues to monitor the impact of its expanded remit for contested enforcement cases.

7.2 As mentioned above, recruitment is underway for additional members to ensure the committee continues to be well resourced (for further details please see section 2.1 above).

Annex: Report summary

As noted, the procedures document lists points on which the EDMC must report. These are set out in the table below.