Google cloud outage disrupts UK banks and courts, testing new FCA powers

A power failure at Google’s London cloud centre disrupted critical services across the UK on Tuesday, affecting banks including Lloyds, HSBC and Revolut, as well as remote court hearings. Millions of customers were unable to access accounts, make payments or attend legal proceedings. Google said most services were restored by mid-afternoon, but some issues persisted for Revolut users into the evening.

The Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority engaged with Google and affected firms to assess the impact. This incident is the first significant test of new powers granted to UK regulators over cloud providers designated as “critical” to financial infrastructure. The FCA said it expects firms to fix issues quickly and keep customers informed.

The Treasury committee has requested a detailed account of the outage’s impact and the regulators’ response. Senior executives in financial services and regulated sectors are likely to face renewed scrutiny over their resilience planning and third-party risk management. Ongoing monitoring and a formal incident analysis from Google are expected.