UK banks' lack of Anthropic access sharpens calls for domestic AI buildout

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Highlights

UK banks, unlike JPMorgan, lack access to Anthropic's Mythos AI model, prompting calls from Starling Bank for domestic AI infrastructure and workforce investment.
Policy recommendations from finance ministry AI champions, including Lloyds and Starling executives, urge accelerated AI adoption and British AI sovereignty, released ahead of Rachel Reeves' Mansion House speech.
Proposals suggest UK financial regulators designate major AI suppliers as critical providers, mirroring recent treatment of U.S. cloud firms, and deepen ties with non-U.S. AI vendors to reduce concentration risks.

Policy push around restricted Mythos access

As reported by Reuters, Harriet Rees, chief information officer at Starling Bank and the finance ministry's appointed AI champion, says UK banks' limited access to Anthropic's Mythos highlights the need for Britain to build its own AI models, infrastructure and workforce skills so it is not fully reliant on U.S. technology providers.

Rees says time is limited if Britain wants to protect its position in financial services. U.S.-based Anthropic released Mythos in April to a select group that includes JPMorgan, while in Britain only a very small number of banks, mainly the UK operations of U.S. lenders, receive access, according to Rees.

Banks want Mythos because it is regarded as a leading model for identifying cybersecurity vulnerabilities, allowing them to patch weaknesses faster and strengthen defences. The CEO of one of Britain's largest banks also told Reuters last week that major British lenders still do not have a timeline for when they expect to gain access.

An Anthropic spokesperson says the company has begun rolling out Mythos 5 to organizations outside the United States and continues to coordinate with the U.S. government to widen access for domestic and international partners.

Regulatory options and sector impact

Rees and fellow ministry appointee Rohit Dhawan, Lloyds Banking Group's head of AI, develop a package of recommendations on AI policy and regulation aimed at accelerating adoption across financial services. The proposals are published on Tuesday as part of the government's financial services AI adoption plan ahead of finance minister Rachel Reeves' annual Mansion House speech.

In a statement, Reeves says she has set out a serious plan for AI sovereignty, backing British companies to compete and win. The recommendations also call on regulators to review the growing use of AI chatbots in delivering financial advice to consumers.

The debate carries wider implications for operational resilience because regulators have long warned that concentration among critical technology providers can create financial stability risks. Alongside building domestic capability, Rees says the UK should diversify its options by deepening relationships with AI firms outside the U.S., including providers in China and France.

Dhawan adds that the UK could improve transparency and resilience by bringing major AI suppliers within the remit of financial regulators if they are designated as critical providers to the finance sector. That approach would mirror the treatment of four U.S. cloud providers announced on Friday.

In our earlier coverage of Flex’s expansion into banking and payments, we detailed the company’s $70 million B1 funding round and its push to become an all-in-one financial platform for mid-sized business owners. We also noted the launch of Flex Global, which uses stablecoins to enable faster cross-border payments across more than 100 countries while supporting multi-currency holdings—an example of how fintechs are scaling new rails alongside AI-driven tools.

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