Banking chiefs are overconfident and oblivious to the risks posed by major tech projects, the City watchdog has said, as it revealed that IT failures across financial institutions have more than doubled in the past year.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it was “deeply concerned” about technology issues within the financial services sector after companies reported an 138pc rise in technology mishaps and faults over the last year.

The watchdog believes this is actually lower then the real figure, as it suspects businesses are significantly under-reporting their IT failings.

Megan Butler, a senior regulator at the FCA, said that finance companies were “overly confident” in their ability to handle new IT systems, potentially leading to ignorance and failings in their technology.

Barclays, HSBC, RBS, Visa and TSB are among those to have faced technology problems this year, with TSB still battling to rebuild confidence after its botched IT revamp led to weeks of outages, a grilling by MPs and the exit of its boss Paul Pester.

These incidents have resulted in customers not being able to access their accounts or make purchases.

In a speech at an event in the City on Tuesday, Ms Butler said firms' seeming confidence "simply isn’t supported by the data we’ve collected on the ground".