PRA 2026 Priorities: Be Ready Before the Regulator Asks

PRA 2026 Priorities: Why Data Quality
Is Now a Supervisory Imperative

In January 2026, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) set out its supervisory priorities for UK deposit takers in a joint letter from Charlotte Gerken and Laura Wallis. The message is clear: firms must strengthen risk management, operational resilience, data quality, model risk governance (including AI), and accountability to remain safe, resilient and sustainable.

These PRA 2026 priorities reflect long-standing challenges across UK financial services, but supervisory tolerance for weak execution is diminishing.

“The PRA’s priorities are not new, but the expectations around evidence, data and control are becoming far more explicit.”
— Priscilla Gaudoin, Head of Risk & Compliance at Ruleguard

As highlighted in our original blog on the PRA’s supervisory priorities for UK deposit takers, regulators are increasingly focused on how firms evidence compliance in practice, not just how policies are written.

Where Firms Continue to Struggle

Across the sector, firms face persistent challenges in operationalising regulatory expectations:

• Translating PRA regulatory expectations into day-to-day controls supported by accurate, auditable data

• Demonstrating operational resilience in practice, not just on paper, using reliable management information

• Managing model risk and AI governance with confidence, underpinned by high-quality, explainable data

• Maintaining clear accountability across complex organisations, with defined data ownership and traceability

At the centre of all these challenges sits data quality.

Data Quality: The Foundation of PRA Supervisory Confidence

The PRA has been increasingly explicit that data quality underpins effective risk management, regulatory reporting and operational resilience. Inconsistent, fragmented or manually adjusted data makes it harder for firms to:

• Respond confidently to supervisory reviews and SREP assessments

• Evidence that controls are operating effectively

• Demonstrate accountability under the Senior Managers Regime

• Support credible decision-making in times of stress

Poor data quality is no longer viewed as a technical issue, it is a regulatory risk.

Conversely, firms that embed strong data governance, clear ownership, documented lineage and a single source of truth for regulatory and risk data are better positioned to meet PRA supervisory expectations and reduce regulatory scrutiny.

What the PRA Expects Firms to Evidence

Building on the PRA 2026 priorities, UK deposit takers should be able to demonstrate:

• Clear accountability for data quality and data ownership

• Consistent, well-governed data feeding regulatory reporting and risk frameworks

• Ongoing monitoring and validation of key prudential datasets

• Reduced reliance on manual adjustments and end-of-period fixes

• Audit-ready evidence to support supervisory engagement at any time

Data quality is now a core enabler of operational resilience, model risk management and accountability, not a back-office afterthought.

How Ruleguard Helps Firms Operationalise PRA Expectations

Ruleguard exists to solve exactly these challenges, helping regulated firms operationalise PRA requirements with clarity, confidence and control.

Our platform supports firms in embedding:

• Structured regulatory requirements mapping

• Robust data governance and ownership frameworks

• Evidence-based compliance and control monitoring

• Consistent oversight across risk, compliance and operational resilience

This enables firms to move from reactive compliance to proactive regulatory readiness.

Are You Ready for PRA Scrutiny?

Don’t wait for a supervisory request to expose data or control gaps.

Our PRA Readiness Checklist helps you assess how well your organisation aligns with the PRA’s 2026 expectations, across data quality, governance, accountability and operational resilience.

Download the PRA Readiness Checklist and pressure-test your regulatory readiness today.