HM Treasury has announced that the UK Government has designated four major global cloud services and technology providers as Critical Third Parties (CTPs). The critical services that these companies provide to the UK financial sector will come under direct regulatory oversight to help strengthen the operational resilience of the UK financial system.
The Bank of England, the Prudential Regulation Authority, and the Financial Conduct Authority will jointly oversee the critical services provided by the CTPs.
“Through the new regime, the regulators will be able to gather information, assess resilience, and work with third parties to address risks to the continuity of critical services, including through making and enforcing CTP-specific rules where necessary,” says HM Treasury.
The companies designated as Critical Third Parties from 13 July 2026 are:
- Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited
- Google Cloud EMEA Limited
- Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL
- Oracle Corporation UK Limited
The Critical Third Parties regime was established through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 to strengthen the operational resilience of the UK financial system.
