TL;DR
Nearly nine in ten UK financial services leaders think AI will transform their industry more than the 1986 Big Bang did, according to KPMG’s latest sentiment survey of UK financial services, which was reported by Computer Weekly on 26 October. Some 87% held that view. Most also expect AI’s gains to reach regional financial centres rather than concentrate in London.
A different kind of Big Bang
The 1986 reforms deregulated the City and brought in electronic trading, helping make London one of the world’s leading financial centres. Paper-based working disappeared and trading floors changed beyond recognition.
KPMG’s survey suggests the industry expects AI to have a wider geographic reach. Asked about geography, 88% expect AI’s gains to spread across the country. Slightly more than half want the balance to shift towards regional centres within ten years, while only 21% want more activity concentrated in the capital.
Karim Haji, who leads KPMG’s financial services practice in the UK and globally, said the Big Bang’s benefits “were not felt equally across the country” and that leaders see AI as a route to growth “more widely across regional centres”.
What it means for jobs
Fiona Fry, a former KPMG partner whose City career began at the time of the Big Bang, said AI would “dwarf the technological developments” of her four-decade career. Repetitive roles will shrink, she predicted, while people’s judgement on oversight, assurance and spotting risk will matter more.
Computer Weekly linked those job concerns to recent cuts at major UK banks, including Barclays’ plan to cut 5,000 roles as it puts more AI into its operations.
Looking Forward
The regional finding sits alongside the government’s new £30 million for mayor-led local AI partnerships. In our view, the survey shows confidence, not delivery: sentiment about where AI’s gains will land is easier to report than the hiring decisions that would move finance jobs outside London. Readers should note that Computer Weekly’s report does not give the survey’s sample size or fieldwork dates.