Bank of England group runs cloud outage crisis simulation with 38 major firms
CMORG completed SIMEX26, a biennial exercise simulating a global cloud services disruption. 38 major banks and market infrastructure operators took part.
What you need to know
The Cross-Market Operational Resilience Group (CMORG), chaired by the Bank of England and UK Finance, completed its biennial crisis simulation, SIMEX26, on 8 October 2026. The exercise focused on a global cloud services disruption and involved 38 of the largest banks and market infrastructure operators, alongside UK financial authorities.
- CMORG completed SIMEX26 on 8 October 2026, simulating a global cloud services disruption.
- The exercise involved 38 major banks and market infrastructure operators and was hosted by London Stock Exchange Group.
- The Bank of England expects participating firms to take action to strengthen resilience based on the exercise.
Exercise details
The Cross-Market Operational Resilience Group (CMORG) held its biennial simulation exercise, SIMEX26, on 8 October 2026, according to a Bank of England news release published the following day. The scenario focused on a global disruption to cloud-based services.
CMORG is chaired by the Bank of England and UK Finance, with participation from HM Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority and the wider financial sector. The exercise involved the 38 largest and most systemically important banks and market infrastructure operators. It was opened by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and hosted by the London Stock Exchange Group.
The exercise included a live meeting of the Bank-chaired Cross Market Business Continuity Group, which provides strategic direction to the sector's collective response to systemic incidents. The Bank said the scenario was not informed by any specific threat information but was developed alongside industry experts.
Expected follow-up
The Bank of England said it now expects firms to take action based on the exercise to further strengthen their resilience and ability to respond to severe operational and cyber scenarios.
The SIMEX programme is designed to rehearse responses to challenging scenarios. Previous exercises in 2022 and 2024 considered cyber-attacks against a major bank and critical infrastructure disruption outside the financial sector, the release said.
Official comments
Katharine Braddick, Deputy Governor of Prudential Regulation at the Bank of England and CEO of the Prudential Regulation Authority, said the exercise demonstrated the UK financial sector's commitment to operational resilience. David Postings, Chief Executive of UK Finance, said SIMEX 2026 enabled the sector to collectively strengthen preparedness. Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby said the operational resilience of the financial services sector is core to maintaining financial stability.
What was the focus of SIMEX26?
SIMEX26 focused on a global cloud services disruption. The exercise involved 38 major banks and market infrastructure operators and was held on 8 October 2026.
Sources & context
- Cross-Market Operational Resilience Group - Published on 09 October 2026 ↗bankofengland.co.uk
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