Cross-Market Operational Resilience Group
The Bank of England-led Cross-Market Operational Resilience Group completed a major crisis simulation in October 2026, testing the UK financial sector’s response to a global cloud services disruption.
The Cross-Market Operational Resilience Group (CMORG), chaired by the Bank of England and UK Finance, concluded its biennial simulation exercise SIMEX26 on 8 October 2026. The event focused on a hypothetical global disruption to cloud-based services, involving 38 systemically important banks and market infrastructure operators alongside financial authorities. The exercise was opened by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and hosted by the London Stock Exchange Group, simulating a coordinated crisis response. Firms and regulators worked together to assess operational resilience and identify areas for improvement in severe disruption scenarios.
The Bank of England has stated that firms are expected to implement lessons from SIMEX26 to strengthen their operational and cyber resilience. Deputy Governor Katharine Braddick highlighted the exercise as a demonstration of the sector’s commitment to maintaining critical services during disruption. UK Finance CEO David Postings emphasised the importance of collective preparedness in safeguarding economic stability and confidence. The Bank noted that the scenario was not based on specific threat intelligence but was developed with industry experts.
SIMEX26 builds on previous exercises in 2022 and 2024, which tested responses to cyber-attacks and critical infrastructure disruptions. The programme aims to rehearse responses to severe operational challenges, ensuring the financial sector remains resilient. Recent work by CMORG has included enhancing third-party resilience, supporting secure innovation in AI, and improving cyber preparedness and recovery capabilities. The exercise is part of a broader effort to bolster the sector’s ability to withstand and recover from systemic incidents.
CMORG’s Sector Response Framework (SRF) was exercised during SIMEX26 to ensure coordinated sector-wide responses to severe disruption. The framework, overseen by CMORG, supports the identification of systemic risks and the development of mitigation strategies. The exercise underscored the importance of collaboration between regulators and firms in maintaining financial stability. The Bank of England reiterated its expectation that firms will act on the findings to further enhance their operational resilience.