European financial regulators questioned Google after a cloud outage disrupted services at major banks on 20 October. Reuters reported that the European Banking Authority contacted Google Cloud for information about the incident and its implications for European lenders. In Britain, Parliament's Treasury Committee wrote to the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority seeking details of their response. The enquiries turned the systems failure into an early test of new powers over critical technology suppliers.
The disruption followed what Google described as a power event in one London availability zone. Customers of Revolut, Lloyds Banking Group and HSBC encountered problems with payments, transfers or account access during the incident, according to reporting on the outage. Google restored the affected services and said it would provide further analysis. The regulatory questions now concern the scale of the impact as well as the underlying technical cause.
A TEST FOR CRITICAL CLOUD OVERSIGHT
Google Cloud EMEA is designated as a critical technology provider under both European Union and UK regimes. The UK Treasury Committee said Google was one of four technology companies designated in July, alongside Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and Oracle. The Bank of England, Prudential Regulation Authority and FCA began overseeing the first designated providers on 13 July.
The European framework gives supervisory authorities a direct role in overseeing critical technology providers under the Digital Operational Resilience Act. Banks nevertheless remain responsible for maintaining services to customers when they depend on outside suppliers. A disruption affecting several lenders at once therefore raises questions about concentration, recovery planning and the resilience of cloud regions used by the financial sector.
REGULATORS SEEK IMPACT AND RESPONSE DETAILS
The Treasury Committee asked the Bank and FCA how they had used their powers, how the authorities responded and whether customers or the wider financial system suffered harm. Reuters said the EBA was assessing the implications for EU financial institutions after contacting Google. Those enquiries are distinct from the immediate restoration of services and could shape supervisory expectations for providers and their bank customers.
The next concrete milestones are the regulators' replies to Parliament, any EBA findings and Google's promised incident analysis. They should clarify whether existing recovery arrangements worked as intended and whether further supervisory action is required. Until those records are published, the extent of financial harm and any remedial measures remain unresolved.