Four of the world’s largest cloud and technology companies will fall under a new UK supervisory regime from next week, as the Government moves to shield the financial services that millions of consumers and businesses depend on from the fallout of a major technology outage.
Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited, Google Cloud EMEA Limited, Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL and Oracle Corporation UK Limited have been designated as Critical Third Parties (CTPs), with the new status taking effect from 13 July 2026. The move follows a period of evidence gathering and engagement between the authorities and the technology firms.
The decision reflects growing concern that banks, insurers and financial market infrastructures now lean so heavily on cloud computing that a failure at one supplier could ripple across numerous institutions simultaneously, threatening the services customers rely on daily.
Under the regime, the Bank of England, the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority will jointly supervise the critical services these providers deliver to the financial sector.
Designated firms must demonstrate robust arrangements for identifying, managing and recovering from operational disruption. The regulators will be empowered to collect information, evaluate resilience and collaborate with providers on risks to service continuity, including by creating and enforcing rules specific to CTPs where required.
The Government has framed the initiative as targeted and proportionate, describing a stable financial system as a foundation for economic growth, investment and innovation. Because the regime operates on a rolling basis, additional providers could be brought within its scope in future where necessary to protect UK resilience.
Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister Rachel Blake MP said, “We are a world-leading financial centre, and maintaining trust in our financial system is essential to its success. These designations will help ensure the critical services financial firms rely on remain resilient, protecting consumers and businesses while supporting growth across the economy.”
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