BoE-backed CMORG completes cloud outage drill

• The exercise was opened by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and hosted by London Stock Exchange Group.
• It involved the Bank of England, UK Finance, HM Treasury, the FCA and the wider financial sector.
• The Bank now expects firms to act on the exercise to strengthen resilience.
• Previous SIMEX exercises in 2022 and 2024 covered cyber-attacks and critical infrastructure disruption.

Action

The Cross-Market Operational Resilience Group completed its biennial simulation exercise, SIMEX26, on 8 October 2026. This year’s scenario focused on a global cloud services disruption.

BoE-backed CMORG completes cloud outage drill

The exercise was opened by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and hosted by the London Stock Exchange Group. It brought together firms and financial authorities for a crisis management exercise.

It also included a live meeting of the Bank-chaired Cross Market Business Continuity Group. The Bank said this group provides strategic direction to the sector’s collective response to systemic incidents.

Respondents

CMORG is chaired by the Bank of England and UK Finance. HM Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority and the wider financial sector participated.

The exercise involved the 38 largest and most systemically important banks and market infrastructure operators.

Effective

The exercise took place yesterday, 8 October 2026. The Bank said it now expects firms to take action based on the exercise.

The aim is to further strengthen resilience and the ability to respond to severe operational and cyber scenarios.

Penalty

No penalty was announced.