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UK Treasury designates big four US hyperscalers as "Critical Third Parties"
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The UK's HM Treasury has designated Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle as "Critical Third Parties" (CTPs) for their role in providing cloud services to financial services.
Key facts
- As revealed on the UK government website on July 10, starting today, July 13, the companies will be subject to direct regulatory oversight aimed at helping protect the UK's financial system
- According to a 2024 survey done by the Bank of England and FCA two years ago, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon accounted for 73 percent of cloud computing services to UK financial companies
- While having a long-standing contract with Microsoft, LSEG expanded its use of Amazon Web Services (AWS) in April 2025, making AWS its preferred cloud platform for its markets, risk intelligence
- The UK's HM Treasury has designated Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle as "Critical Third Parties" (CTPs) for their role in providing cloud services to financial services
Summary
As revealed on the UK government website on July 10, starting today, July 13, the companies will be subject to direct regulatory oversight aimed at helping protect the UK's financial system. The move has been motivated by banks, insurers, and financial market infrastructures' increasing reliance on cloud services, meaning that "disruption at a major supplier could affect multiple firms at the same time, potentially impacting services customers depend on. The designation will mean that the Bank of England, Prudential Regulation Authority, and Financial Conduct Authority will work together to jointly oversee the cloud providers and the services provided to the financial sector. Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister, Rachel Blake MP, said: "The team are a world-leading financial center, and maintaining trust in their financial system is essential to its success.