Financial services is hiring for depth, not volume. Recent government analysis of sector shortages found that recruitment in financial services was generally for Regulatory Qualification Framework (RQF) 6+ roles, rather than RQF 3-5 the GOV.UK Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report (2026). In plain terms, RQF 6 sits at degree level, so the demand is concentrated at the more senior, more qualified end of the market.
That matters for disclosure review. Reviewing disclosures, the information a bank shares with regulators, customers or counterparties, is not clerical work. It calls for people who can read a situation, weigh regulatory expectations and make a defensible call. The market is already pulling in that direction, which means the people you want are in demand elsewhere too.
Agent-assisted banks are reshaping what a disclosure reviewer actually does day to day. When an AI agent handles the first read, flags anomalies and drafts a summary, the human role shifts from finding issues to judging them. The work becomes less about volume processing and more about exception handling, context and sign-off.
This fits the wider market signal. With demand skewed towards RQF 6+ roles in financial services the GOV.UK Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report (2026), the people who thrive in agent-assisted teams tend to be the ones who can challenge a machine's output, not just repeat it. You are hiring a decision-maker and a check on the system, not a second pair of hands for the same task.
Three dynamics define these roles now:
Start with the decision, not the task list. Write down the specific regulatory judgements this person will make, then design your assessment around those judgements. A short, realistic exercise where a candidate reviews a flawed disclosure and explains their reasoning tells you far more than a qualification line on a CV.
Given the sector's tilt towards RQF 6+ roles the GOV.UK Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report (2026), look for proven regulatory literacy, but weight it against the ability to work alongside an AI agent. Ask how someone would react to a confident but wrong flag from a tool. Ask how they would document an override. These questions surface the exact skills an agent-assisted workflow depends on.
A few practical steps:
We built Reed.ai to help banks reach this exact profile faster. We search a database of 15 million candidates, rank a shortlist and manage recruitment end to end, so your compliance leads spend their time assessing judgement rather than sifting CVs. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost. Tell us what good looks like and we will start shortlisting today.
