| Link(s): | FCA Authorisations operating service metrics 2026/27 Q1 | FCA Authorisations operating service metrics Q1 2026/27 |
Context
The FCA has published its latest quarterly Authorisations Division operating service metrics data, to provide transparency of the Authorisations Division’s performance. This first publication of operating service metrics for the 2026/27 financial year, including the voluntary targets where they apply, shows 7 metrics are green, 2 amber and 3 red for Q1.
Key points to note and next actions
- Across all published metrics, 97.9% of cases were determined within the applicable deadline during Q1 2026/27, up from 97.5% in Q4 2025/26.
- This quarter, the FCA has expanded its reporting to include Adjacent Variations of Permission. This category, which is subject to a voluntary target of determining complete applications within 3 months and incomplete applications within 6 months, achieved 94.2% (amber) performance in its first reported quarter.
- The areas where the FCA did not meet its targets were:
- New Firm Authorisations,
- Adjacent Variations of Permission,
- 3/4MLD and 5MLD; and
- Payment Services & E-Money Authorisations.
- In these areas, the breaches resulted from a combination of operational challenges, applications needing greater scrutiny, and the tighter deadlines the FCA is working towards.
- The results continue to reflect the more ambitious standards the FCA has introduced. By reducing target processing times for certain application types, the FCA has deliberately raised the bar for performance, meaning published results may show greater challenge against targets despite continued strong operational delivery.