PRA Authorisations Performance Report 2025/26 Q4

Prudential Regulation Authority
Authorisations Performance Report 2025/26 – Q4, including annual summary data The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 requires us to make decisions relating to the authorisations processes within set timeframes. In July 2025, the PRA wrote to the Chancellor to set out its commitment to further accelerate the speed of regulatory approvals, while maintaining a robust and proportionate regulatory gateway. The letter supported the Government’s plans to shorten certain deadlines in legislation. The tables below set out the statutory service standards within which we are obliged to make decisions, and our performance against the deadlines for the period from 1 December 2025 to 28 February 2026 (Q4), and cumulative year to date performance for period 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2026. The tables also show our performance measured against the shorter deadlines the Government proposes to legislate for, which the PRA is now targeting. It should be noted that a proportion of cases closed during this reporting period, particularly earlier in the year, were assessed under processes designed around the existing statutory deadlines, before the shorter timelines were confirmed. The figures therefore reflect a period of transition as the PRA moves towards operating consistently against the new standards. In future public performance reports, the PRA intends to move towards primarily reporting against the shorter deadlines.

Notes to tables

1. The statutory service period starts when the application is received by either the PRA or
   the FCA and stops when a determination to approve or refuse is made, or the application is withdrawn.
2. A closed case is defined as any completed application that has concluded following the
   PRA making a determination, or where the firm voluntarily withdraws its application. Where a firm withdraws an application and later submits another similar application this will be counted as a separate case.
3. The statutory service period is measured in calendar days for New Authorisations,
   Variation of Permission, Cancellations, and Passporting applications, and in working days for Change in Control applications.
4. For some applications under the Senior Managers Regime and for Changes in Control,
   time to determination under the statutory service standard allows for circumstances where the statutory clock is paused, for example where questions to the applicant firm are awaiting a response. Calculations shown for these applications therefore exclude periods where the clock is stopped.
5. Lower and upper quartiles are calculated as the 25th and 75th percentile respectively.
   Lower and upper quartile time to closure is only shown where there are nine or more cases in the period. Median time to closure is only shown where there are three or more cases.
6. For Change in Control applications, time to determination under the statutory service
   standard is calculated in working days, from the point a complete application is submitted.
7. Senior Managers Regime closed cases do not include any application linked to a Part
   4A Permission.
8. The statutory service standard for Passporting cases is one month, unless the case is a
   new Inward Establishment which is two months from the receipt of a complete notification, or a new Outward Establishment which is three months from the receipt of a complete notification.
9. We have updated the compliance thresholds so that Green now applies from 95%
   (previously 98%). This change does not apply to Change in Control, which remains at a 100% threshold. The complexity of some cases means that we will not always meet our statutory targets. In these cases, it is right that we take the time to make sure there is greater scrutiny and engagement with the firms involved. Colours on compliance statistics refer to the proportion of cases closed within the relevant statutory service standard.9 Change in Control Under 90% 90% to less than 100% 100% All other Process types Under 90% 90% to less than 95% 95% and over

All firms
Period: Q4 1 Dec 25 to 28 Feb 26 YTD Period: 1 Mar 25 to 28 Feb 26 Process Relevant Statutory Service Standard 1,2 Cases Closed 2 Time to Close Cases (days) 3,4,5 Cases Closed Time to Close Cases (days) Within Statutory Service Standard Outside of Statutory Service Standard Compliance % Lower Quartile Median Upper Quartile Within Statutory Service Standard YTD Outside of Statutory Service Standard YTD Compliance % YTD Lower Quartile YTD Median YTD Upper Quartile YTD New Authorisations New Target:
Within four months of a complete application, or within 10 months of receipt of an incomplete application 2 0 100% - - - 6 3 67% 210 276 319 Old Target:
Within six months of a complete application, or within 12 months of receipt of an incomplete application 2 0 100% - - - 9 0 100% 210 276 319 Variation of Permission (Excluding Own Initiative) New Target:
Within four months of becoming complete, or 10 months of receipt of an incomplete application 44 0 100% 18 41 102 190 3 98% 19 34 110 Old Target:
Within six months of becoming complete, or 12 months of receipt of an incomplete application 44 0 100% 18 41 102 193 0 100% 19 34 110 Cancellations Within six months of becoming complete, or 12 months of receipt of an incomplete application 10 0 100% 49 54 73 40 0 100% 55 102 175 Change in Control 6 Within two working days of making the decision (and in any event no later than within 60 working days of acknowledgement of receipt) 16 0 100% 22 35 40 69 0 100% 23 30 40 Senior Managers Regime (Forms A & E) 7 New Target:
Within two months of receipt
271 6 98% 19 28 38 1,050 200 84% 22 36 52 Old Target:
Within three months of receipt
277 0 100% 19 28 38 1,250 0 100% 22 36 52 Passporting 8 One month from the receipt of a complete notification, unless an Inward Establishment or Outward Establishment 6 0 100% - 19 - 11 0 100% 18 19 20

Deposit-taking firms
Period: Q4 1 Dec 25 to 28 Feb 26 YTD Period: 1 Mar 25 to 28 Feb 26 Process Relevant Statutory Service Standard Cases Closed Time to Close Cases (days) Cases Closed Time to Close Cases (days) Within Statutory Service Standard Outside of Statutory Service Standard Compliance % Lower Quartile Median Upper Quartile Within Statutory Service Standard YTD Outside of Statutory Service Standard YTD Compliance % YTD Lower Quartile YTD Median YTD Upper Quartile YTD New Authorisations New Target:
Within four months of a complete application, or within 10 months of receipt of an incomplete application 0 0 - - - - 1 1 50% - - - Old Target:
Within six months of a complete application, or within 12 months of receipt of an incomplete application 0 0 - - - - 2 0 100% - - - Variation of Permission (Excluding Own Initiative) New Target:
Within four months of becoming complete, or 10 months of receipt of an incomplete application 35 0 100% 17 28 81 156 2 99% 17 27 86 Old Target:
Within six months of becoming complete, or 12 months of receipt of an incomplete application 35 0 100% 17 28 81 158 0 100% 17 27 86 Cancellations Within six months of becoming complete, or 12 months of receipt of an incomplete application 10 0 100% 49 54 73 22 0 100% 48 60 100 Change in Control Within two working days of making the decision (and in any event no later than within 60 working days of acknowledgement of receipt) 3 0 100% - 25 - 28 0 100% 23 31 41 Senior Managers Regime (Forms A & E) New Target:
Within two months of receipt
131 4 97% 20 29 39 513 114 82% 24 38 54
Old Target:
Within three months of receipt
135 0 100% 20 29 39 627 0 100% 24 38 54
Passporting One month from the receipt of a complete notification, unless an Inward Establishment or Outward Establishment 0 0 - - - - 2 0 100% - - -

Insurance firms
Period: Q4 1 Dec 25 to 28 Feb 26 YTD Period: 1 Mar 25 to 28 Feb 26 Process Relevant Statutory Service Standard Cases Closed Time to Close Cases (days) Cases Closed Time to Close Cases (days) Within Statutory Service Standard Outside of Statutory Service Standard Compliance % Lower Quartile Median Upper Quartile Within Statutory Service Standard YTD Outside of Statutory Service Standard YTD Compliance % YTD Lower Quartile YTD Median YTD Upper Quartile YTD New Authorisations New Target:
Within four months of a complete application, or within 10 months of receipt of an incomplete application 2 0 100% - - - 5 2 71% - 276 - Old Target:
Within six months of a complete application, or within 12 months of receipt of an incomplete application 2 0 100% - - - 7 0 100% - 276 - Variation of Permission (Excluding Own Initiative) New Target:
Within four months of becoming complete, or 10 months of receipt of an incomplete application 9 0 100% 74 142 187 34 1 97% 47 92 164 Old Target:
Within six months of becoming complete, or 12 months of receipt of an incomplete application 9 0 100% 74 142 187 35 0 100% 47 92 164 Cancellations Within six months of becoming complete, or 12 months of receipt of an incomplete application 0 0 - - - - 18 0 100% 116 170 215 Change in Control Within two working days of making the decision (and in any event no later than within 60 working days of acknowledgement of receipt) 13 0 100% 25 36 40 41 0 100% 23 28 40 Senior Managers Regime (Forms A & E) New Target:
Within two months of receipt
140 2 99% 17 26 38 537 86 86% 21 33 49
Old Target:
Within three months of receipt
142 0 100% 17 26 38 623 0 100% 21 33 49
Passporting One month from the receipt of a complete notification, unless an Inward Establishment or Outward Establishment 6 0 100% - 19 - 9 0 100% 18 19 20

Applications – refusals and withdrawals
The table below shows the number of applications that were refused or withdrawn during the period of 1st March 2025 to 28 th February 2026. Process Firm type/sector Total number of cases closed Of which were refusals Of which were withdrawals New Firm Authorisation Deposit Taking Firms 2 0 1 New Firm Authorisation Insurance Firms 7 0 0 Senior Managers Regime Deposit Taking Firms 627 0 17 Senior Managers Regime Insurance Firms 623 0 14 Refusal reasons n/a

Number of new and cancelled firms from the UK market The table below shows the number of firms the PRA authorised and cancelled from the UK market during the period of 1st March 2025 to 28 th February 2026. Process Firm type/sector Total number of firms New Firm Authorisation Deposit Taking Firms 1 New Firm Authorisation Insurance Firms 7 TOTAL 8 Cancellations Deposit Taking Firms 22 Cancellations Insurance Firms 18 TOTAL 40

Number of new domestic vs overseas firms authorised The table below shows a breakdown of the number of new firms authorised into the UK market during the period of 1st March 2025 to 28 th February 2026. Firm category Total number of new firms Of the new firms, how many are UK firms/groups Of the new firms, how many are UK subsidiaries (part of an overseas group) Of the new firms, how many are UK branches of an overseas firm Deposit taking firms 1 1 Insurance firms 7 2 3 2 TOTAL 8

Additional metrics
In the July 2025 letter, the PRA also committed to additional stretching targets to show where we intend to go faster than the legislative deadlines, particularly for less complex applications. The
table below shows our performance against these targets for the period of 1st March 2025 to 28
th
February 2026.
Target Total number of cases % where target was met 3 months for complete applications from insurance firms that qualify for the wholesale insurance accelerated authorisation pathway 1 100% 6 weeks for complete applications from insurance special purpose vehicles (ISPVs) 10 working days for complete applications from ISPVs that qualify for an accelerated pathway At least 50% of Senior Managers Regime cases to be completed within 45 days 1,250 66%