It’s that time again! The updated version of the current range of regulatory initiatives in play was recently published on the websites of both the PRA and the FCA.
Regulatory Initiatives Grid | FCA
Fifth edition of the Regulatory Initiatives Grid | Bank of England
For those of you that might not be familiar with this, the grid aims to bring together the current regulatory initiatives from the following organisations that have a part to play in regulating the financial services marketplace:
Interestingly, this edition starts with the following commentary: –
“This, the fifth edition of the Grid, is a story of consistency on the one hand and significant developments on the other.”
It is well known that firms have been lobbying the regulators for some time now, saying that the weight of regulation and the speed of change is too much and too quick, and so it’s interesting to note that the foreword of this document penned by Nikhil Rathi, CEO of the FCA and Sam Woods, Deputy Governor, Prudential Regulation at the Bank of England explains what the regulators are doing to consider this.
“In the context of (world) developments, the Forum is an important opportunity for us to take a step back and assess the overall regulatory landscape. We see that the total number of initiatives reflected in the Grid continues to stay broadly steady, as it has across the last three editions. We note this but are also keen to focus on the impact of initiatives, rather than just the number. We are therefore currently developing our analysis of the initiatives in the Grid to be able to better assess their collective impact. This work should then provide further support for our business planning and decisions about when to start, delay, or stop work. We hope to include some of these insights in a future edition of the Grid.”
No doubt this will be welcome news for many regulatory teams within firms as they battle with a barrage of regulatory change.
However, if we look at the breakdown of regulatory initiatives that are multi sectors or are within a particular sector of the market, it’s interesting to see where the weight of regulatory interest and potential change sits.
With the focus on vulnerability, the cost-of-living crisis and ensuring that consumers are receiving the best possible outcomes, then it’s no surprise to see some areas seeing a much sharper regulatory focus than others.
However, with the proposed Consumer Duty policy statement due in Q3 2022, I wouldn’t be surprised if firms were thinking that this one piece of regulatory change alone will keep their regulatory and change management teams tied up between publication and implementation!
And on that point, as this one proposed piece of regulatory change is so all-encompassing for organisations, what can firm’s such as Worksmart do to help regulated firms meet their regulatory commitments?
The newly proposed Consumer Duty is all about improving outcomes for consumers across all interactions with each individual firm and in order to do this, organisations need competent, capable staff that are effectively managed, overseen and supported.
Like to know more about how we can support you? With a range of people and process focussed regulatory software, that will help you drive improvement and more effective oversight in these areas, please contact us info@worksmart.co.uk or book a meeting to find out how the latest RegTech can help you.