Only hours before JWG’s Customer Data Management Group (CDMG) met on 23 February, an announcement was made that more than a third of firms that submitted their responsibilities under the Senior Managers Regime (SMR) had been rejected for technical reasons. The UK FCA/PRA SMR passed its first major milestone for grandfathering on 8 February and


With the MiFID II delay finally official, implementation teams received the good news that they had been waiting for patiently for months.  But now is not the time to rest on their laurels. Completing all of the work required to change technology systems, policies and procedures in line with MiFID II was considered an impossibility


In November last year, at JWG’s monthly CDMG meeting, we discussed the incoming General Data Protection Regulation which – at that stage – remained a draft and the implications of the removal of the US safe harbour rule.  The safe harbour rule was an agreement between the US and EU allowing businesses to transfer personal


There will no doubt be many concerned faces amongst senior management this year as the new rules for the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMR) come into force over the next 12 months.  The first implementation date will be in February 2016 when firms will have to submit documents for grandfathering, then commencement of the


The FCA has just dropped their comprehensive review of UK banking culture, which focused on whether pay, promotions or incentives in the financial sector encourage malpractice.  Shortly after its announcement last year, it has been shelved, with the FCA citing that each business is unique and thus cannot easily be compared. To some this is


LEI: to renew or not to renew

2015 has been a year of genuine progress for the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) project. It is fair to say that it would not have been particularly difficult this time last year to find sceptics about whether such a statement could be made at this point. ESMA have been a key driver behind this progress.


Getting your head round the main objectives of the current financial reform agenda is a task in itself, but when it comes down to the increasing data management requirements that follow hand in hand, it’s all about the nuts and bolts. Whose responsibility is it to manage this data, and keep it up to quality?


Last week, the Regulatory Oversight Committee (ROC) published their report on the progress the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) has made since its proposal in 2011 as a solution to transparency, organisation and risk aggregation in the financial industry. The report is split into five sections: (1) Completion of the Global Legal Entity Identifier System (GLEIS)


How do we change the pace of regulation?

JWG analysis. Tracey McDermott, acting Chief Executive of the FCA, called last week for a more sustainable regulatory framework that does not just reflect the atmosphere of the time. She was referring to what is being increasingly seen as the regulatory pendulum – the process of intense regulation following a financial crisis which then wears


JWG analysis. The Regulatory Oversight Committee is branching out. On Wednesday, the ROC released a consultation paper on the possible issuance of LEIs to international branches of a head office legal entity.  The idea is that this may reduce the likelihood of the double trade and transaction reporting that foreign branches are often subject to


JWG analysis. The ousting of Martin Wheatley from the Financial Conduct Authority during the summer is a sign that the UK Government wants to take a stand on ‘bank bashing’, sending a global message that London is a bank friendly capital, and that there will be more emphasis on individual responsibility. During this year, there


JWG analysis. As financial regulations keep piling up in the post-crisis world, it becomes increasingly difficult to recognise the similarities and differences between them.  The interdependencies on the Know Your Customer (KYC) front are present, but somewhat tangled.  Here we provide an overview of the current and upcoming client classification requirements under prominent regulations, and


Bringing down the borders

JWG analysis. Euromoney’s article, earlier this year, stated that regulatory arbitrage in Africa is growing as banks begin to establish branches across their borders and exploit regulatory loopholes in the host country.  This may result in a lack of accountability due to the frameworks not being in place for consolidated supervision, and is a stark


GIIN! … LEI! … PRN?

JWG analysis. Over the course of the year, JWG’s Customer Data Management Group (CDMG) has covered in-depth customer due diligence and KYC requirements under global tax, reporting and anti-money laundering regulation, and market monitoring under MAR/MAD2.  For the ninth CDMG meeting, JWG took a different direction and covered fund management regulation and the regulatory interdependencies


GDPR … tick … tock … tick … tock

JWG analysis. Amongst a number of themes and issues that are raised on a regular basis at our monthly Customer Data Management Group (CDMG) meetings, data protection and the need for harmonisation are consistently top contenders. Recently, CDMG has covered the OECD Common Reporting Standard, MiFID II and the new Market Abuse Regulation, and will


JWG analysis. At the 8th Customer Data Management Group (CDMG) meeting of 2015, on 18 August, over 20 members from 10 firms came together to discuss the new Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) and the potential challenges it holds. With less than 11 months until particular sections of MAR will apply to the financial services industry,


JWG analysis. The commencement date (March 2016) of the Senior Managers Regime is fast approaching – but what does it mean for senior managers?  And will anyone want to be a senior manager when the regime finally commences? Whilst the new regime will only affect new applicants directly, those who are certified under the existing


JWG analysis. Mark Carney recently declared the ‘age of irresponsibility’ within the fixed income, currency and commodities (FICC) markets to be over.  Just over a year ago, the UK Government introduced the Fair and Effective Markets Review (FEMR) in response to the FX and LIBOR scandals.  The large scale misconduct and collusion had damaged public


JWG analysis. Eleven of the industry’s most high-profile trade associations and ISDA this week urged regulators to adopt consistent and harmonised trade reporting requirements across jurisdictions.  However, reporting rules are already on the books and the consequences are high for firms.   In part 1 of our analysis on reporting, published last week, we explored


By Sam Tyfield and JWG. As RegTech readers may recall, back in 2014, the prudential regulator in the UK released new rules for the firms it regulated – the ‘senior managers regime’ or SMR – and that the Bank of England was running a Fair and Effective Markets Review (FEMR) looking at what needed to change in


JWG analysis. With 40+ regulations covering 500+ KYC data requirements due to be implemented over the next 3 years, meeting the requirements poses significant challenges to all firms in the market, not least client outreach, data management and multiple, iterative, implementation dates.  Combined with record fines for AML failures, and new personal liability for senior


By Darragh O’Grady and JWG. Regulatory requirements coming in over the next 3 years will mean firms need to know – and prove that they know – more things about their customer than ever before.  Combined with the growth of ‘digital banking’, firms are now having to innovate on the digital front, whilst ensuring compliance


JWG analysis. There is a war going on to ‘Know Your Customer’.  As regulators continue to release new requirements for firms to collect and maintain information about their clients and counterparties, the struggle to comply has turned into trench warfare fought across many fronts, and new strategies are needed to avoid a long and uncertain


On the 22nd January, over 30 stakeholders from 12 firms met Customer Data Management Group (CDMG)  meeting to discuss their 2015 priorities for regulatory KYC requirements. JWG presented a summary of 40+ new regulations that require firms to manage counterparty information over the next 3 years.  Alec then presented summaries of the 11 regulations in scope


Happy EU Data Protection Day!

By Sam Tyfield, Vedder Price. Back in 2009, the EU issued a Recommendation (which has no binding legal effect) on the use and application of RFIDs (which, for our purposes, means ID/swipe/access cards).  The EU has just issued a review of the implementation of the Recommendation EU-wide and has found take-up by EU member States


The Blockchain as a regulated platform

By Darragh O’Grady and JWG. In this fourth article in our Blockchain series, we asked RegTechFS contributor, Darragh O’Grady, what benefits blockchain technology could bring to the establishment and maintenance of trading platforms, particularly Multilateral Trading Facilities (MTF) in the context of forthcoming MiFID II implementation planning. According to MiFID, an MTF is a “multilateral


2015: time for your new operating model?

JWG analysis. 60 attendees across the buy and sell-sides came together at Markit’s seminar in Stockholm last month to discuss today’s industry challenges.  They concluded that a new focus on establishing a flexible banking operating model to meet both business and regulatory demands for data, processes and standards, is top on their wish list for 2015.


What happens if nobody owns regulation?

This summer, we found that the industry could face up to three Eiffel Towers high worth of paper from the G20.  Curious about the risks inherent in managing that many documents, we asked Meredith Gibson, Head of Legal Risk at Santander UK, and Helen Pykhova, Director of The Op Risk Company and Chair, Operational Risk


JWG analysis. This summer, we took a look at the emerging MiFID II/MiFIR technical standards and concluded that the ‘hearing’ that they were getting would result in a war of many parts. Since the summer, over 700 MiFID II/MiFIR responses have been submitted, the FCA has run a conference crying for action and JWG is


Conduct risk – controlling Bigfoot?

JWG analysis. Conduct risk continues to be a hot topic.  There is a number of reasons for this: everybody’s being fined for it, there is a continuous stream of regulatory requirements demanding it and -probably most importantly – no-one knows exactly what it is. The FSA provided a definition in 2011 in their Retail Conduct


Darragh O’Grady and JWG. There has been much written lately on the potentially disruptive impact that digital currencies may have.  However, the blockchain architecture that underlies them has also been a recent subject of a CFTC meeting to discuss the potentially disruptive impact of this new technology.  We asked an architecture expert with a background


Huge fines and complex KYC rules are causing banks to ‘de-risk’ their client portfolios leading to many without access to banking.  Now both consumers and politicians are unhappy.  For years, the industry has struggled without real standards in the AML arena.  So what happens next? SIBOS news was full of more KYC claims again this


Today, JWG have published their much anticipated analysis report, ‘G20 FS reform: will you survive or thrive?’. The report surveys regulatory efforts from 131 regulatory bodies which have produced approximately 50,000 documents since 2009.  It finds that the volume, pace and complexity of deciding how to comply with a continually evolving regulatory agenda are staggering:


Risk off

This article originally appeared in the autumn 2014 edition of Markit Magazine.   JWG analysis. The Basel Committee’s principles for effective risk data aggregation and risk reporting (BCBS 239) may be among the least well known components of the post-financial crisis reform package. Yet they could ultimately bring about the most significant changes to the


MiFID II set to expand op risk remit?

In our previous articles we’ve explored the expanding requirements for robust systems and risk controls under MiFID II, the nature of proportionality as it relates to algorithmic trading and the new accountability implications for senior managers. This article, written by Meredith Gibson, Head of Legal Risk, Santander UK plc and Helen Pykhova, Director, The Op


JWG analysis. ‘What is proportional?’ is a question that firms may well find themselves pondering in the coming months as they begin implementation planning for MiFID II … and the same question is going to be asked by risk and compliance specialists on a regular basis once MiFID II goes live in 2017. This is


JWG analysis. The Bank of England (BoE), along with the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority, has released 2 joint consultations and 1 policy statement on remuneration, clawbacks, and accountability in Financial Services: 30 July – Policy Statement PS7/14 Clawback – here 30 July – Consultation Paper PRA CP15/14/FCA CP14/14 Strengthening the


JWG analysis. At the turn of the century, the framers of the UK’s financial infrastructure rulebook enshrined four fundamental concepts into systems and controls practice.  The rulebook in question is the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), which created the FSA.  (The FSA was then subsequently split into the FCA and the PRA in


JWG analysis. We learnt something this month.  The reason Europe calls it a regulatory ‘hearing’ is that it is an opportunity to hear views from both regulators and the market.  Of course, that’s just part of the experience as many other senses are triggered when 400 people are locked in a basement for 2 days,


JWG analysis. The desire for tighter controls on algorithmic trading is growing globally.  Trading rules in the major financial centres will quickly set new minimum thresholds. As described in our previous piece on how algos are defined and controlled, Europe is again leading the pack and would appear to have serious intent to change the


JWG analysis. Last month (20 June), the Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued a new Supervisory Policy Manual (SPM) on the topic of recovery planning (Module RE-1: Recovery Planning) following a consultation with Hong Kong’s two industry associations. This follows the Financial Stability Board’s push to implement standards in the area of recovery and resolutions plans


JWG analysis. Regulators across the globe appear divided on the question of whether tighter control of algorithmic trading is necessary. The Australians are pretty laid back about it, the Germans are ahead of the game, whilst political debate rages in the US.  Regardless, while the value of algo trading to global markets is generally considered


By Chris Kentouris. EMIR, it’s short for European Market Infrastructure Regulation. It has also become a four-letter word for fund managers struggling to fulfill reporting requirements. About five months after the effective date for fund managers and broker dealers to send details of trades executed on exchange-listed and over-the-counter swap transactions to recognized trade repositories, fund managers are


JWG analysis. The BCBS appears to be putting the screws on national regulators to expand the scope of their Risk Data Aggregation Principles to affect more banks.  Now Singapore is the first to react. June has been a busy month for all regulatory agencies, and the BCBS is no exception.  With 3 consultations, 2 sets


JWG analysis. Last week the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) released several key documents including its annual Policy Statement amending certain aspects of the PRA Rulebook. These policy changes are sure to have an impact across all firms that come under the PRA’s regulatory jurisdiction. The PRA has: Amended eight of its Fundamental Rules which replaced its


JWG analysis. In our previous piece we spelt out the breadth and depth of the regulatory onslaught in the context of MiFID II.  Here, we unveil how RegDelta can help you redefine the battlefield. What is RegDelta? RegDelta gives firms the ability to control global regulatory challenges.  RegDelta is a financial services regulatory data management


Battle weary? RegDelta is on its way!

JWG analysis. For the past decade we have been making sense of the changes regulators want to make … and it’s not been easy.  JWG has worked with over 100 financial institutions, dozens of trade associations and regulators in several countries to mirror the detailed compliance requirements specified by the regulatory agenda to help define


JWG analysis. The continent was rocked by far more than parliamentary elections on 22 May. Early reports from major financial centres confirm the impact from the 844 pages of text released by ESMA on MiFID II / MIFID to be about a 9 on the Richter scale – so high that ESMA’s website gave up


JWG has extracted the following questions from ESMA‘s Consultation Paper on MiFID/MiFIR Technical Advice.  ESMA needs to deliver this advice to the European Commission by December 2014 and is therefore subject to a condensed consultation process for this paper. For more on MiFID/MiFIR see here. Q1.      Do you agree with the proposed cumulative conditions to be


JWG analysis. Our jaws hit the floor when it was revealed at our CDMG meeting last week that ESMA’s MiFID II technical standards are expected to be in excess of 800 pages with more than 800 questions to be answered by August 2014. And this is just the start.  ESMA’s 2014 work plan has over


JWG analysis. Without a consolidated viewpoint on what new risk data requirements mean, firms will be at a loss when it comes to determining best practice. We are in the middle of a massive, global industry transformation with many rulebooks. With divergent regulatory timelines, standards and existing data architectures a common and holistic ‘best practice’


JWG analysis. When MiFIR is implemented in 2016, all of the pain experienced in preparing for EMIR’s transaction reporting regime, which went live earlier this year on 12 February, is likely to be rekindled.  Thankfully, at least this time around the industry has significantly more time to get prepared. Hopefully, that means enough time to


Algo flagging – the future

By Sam Tyfield, Vedder Price. Algo flagging is currently only the concern of direct members of German venues.  But it’s going to have a much broader application under MiFID / MiFIR and become of concern to the buy-side too. Yesterday, the good Doctor Voigt of Fidessa published a blog about algo flagging.  It is well worth


MiFID II to calm the US HFT storm?

JWG analysis. While the US HFT debate rages and the FBI launches its investigations, Europe is quietly preparing to set a hard-hitting set of new rules for technical standards. When ESMA begins its consultation around MiFID II / MiFIR tech standards this summer, market participants will need to have their ducks in a row and


JWG analysis. Earlier this month, New York Attorney General (NYAG), Eric Schneiderman, set out his stall with a scathing attack on high frequency trading firms and their practices.  Describing HFT firms as ‘parasitic’ and comparing their strategies to “Insider Trading 2 .0”, the NYAG’s statement would have been music to the ears of financial luddites


Video: Regulatory reform – 2014 helicopter view. Regulation is coming thick and fast.  Seventy thousand pages a year fast! Dealing with this deluge with a page-by-page, regulation-by-regulation approach is becoming impossible as the G20 commitments become spread across many rulebooks.  This means that firms trying to tackle the changes one-by-one will end up with sky-high implementation


JWG analysis. This week marked the one year anniversary of EMIR’s first implementation deadline.  And what a difference a year makes … or does it? This time last year, banks and their customers were busy determining who had passed certain thresholds (determining who would be classified as NFC or NFC+), along with implementing confirmation processes


The OTC dilemma: is the data awesome?

JWG analysis. There is a new film making the rounds where the evil ‘Lord Business’ locks up all the master builders in a think-tank and uses them to design his empire. Quite apart from giving JWG analysts a lot to laugh about, it’s a useful theme when exploring what is going on with OTC trade


JWG analysis. If you’re reading this post, then it’s more than likely you are in one of the many job roles that are impacted by financial regulation.  Whether you are directly involved as COO or a legal, compliance, governance or risk officer, or indirectly involved in an operational, IT or business capacity, it’s clear that


AMLD IV adds fuel to KYC utility model

JWG analysis. The European Parliament recently published (here) the latest amended text of the proposed 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD IV), which includes measures to help simplify the way firms conduct KYC today, and adds weight to the KYC utility business model by requiring the industry to maintain accurate and timely data on beneficial ownership.


ESMA publishes 3rd country CCP list

JWG analysis. ESMA has published an updated list of non-EEA central counterparties (CCPs) that have applied for recognition under Article 25 of EMIR. ESMA has taken care to note that the list is not exhaustive and only includes applicants that have agreed to have their name mentioned. Those CCPs that pass the approval process will be permitted


JWG analysis. When the requirement brought about by the German high frequency trading act to tag algorithms comes into force in April of this year, market participants may well feel hamstrung by the complexity of the regime.  And while the regulatory goal of improving market surveillance and reducing systemic risk may be valid, some might


MiFID II: now under starter’s orders

JWG analysis. The first 700 of 18,000 pages of MiFID II texts have now been published, a little more than a month after the European Commission announced agreement in the trilogue process, but this milestone foreshadows a confused standards landscape that will stretch forward to implementation of the regulations and directives in 2016. For those


Trade data: seeing through the smoothie

JWG analysis. When G20 leaders met in Pittsburgh back in September 2009, there was clear consensus on the direction that the financial industry needed to take in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.  Transparency was a key theme. The view was that, by mandating industry-wide reporting obligations for OTC derivatives, regulators would be armed


JWG analysis. Until the world has a definitive LEI, we are going to have to recognise that piecemeal adoption brings with it significant hidden costs in validating, enriching and mapping for regulatory purposes. LEI watchers have been encouraged to see Saudi Arabia and Italy joining the fold in the past month.  They might be just


JWG analysis. With the 12 February EMIR trade reporting deadline just around the corner, the atmosphere in the derivatives industry suggests just as much turmoil as ever. Issues surrounding LEI registration, UTI reconciliation and trade repository affiliations persist as the rush to comply with mandatory reporting rules begins.  The industry is still grappling with issues that


JWG analysis. In late October, the European Banking Authority (EBA) released a consultation on the use of the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) for CRD IV’s risk reporting requirements.  Now that the consultation phase has been concluded, firms may only have around 60 days to register LEIs for all their entities that report under CRD IV.


By Tristan Dehaan, Market Data Vendor Manager Following a robust market data discussion on RegTechFS, we asked Tristan, a Market Data Vendor Manager at a European Asset Manager, to tell us about his efforts to help the industry get to more client-friendly market data contracts. At the end of 2012, speaking as a well-placed member of


JWG analysis. With 9 working days to go before compulsory reporting of derivatives trades becomes a daily reality, firms are in the final phases of implementing their individual solutions.  These differ from firm-to-firm, for example some are planning to report in real-time (as in the US), while others plan to report later within the T+1


This time next year, the market is going to be a very different place.  No-one knows the complete, consolidated impact of regulation on the market, and many of the parts are still in motion, but the core structure is starting to take shape. In Europe, our research tells us that most institutions are opening 2014


Trade reporting for EMIR begins in February 2014 and firms are beginning to register their entities (and their clients) for LEIs in order to meet the deadline. However, registration volumes are set to increase as the EBA’s recent consultation paper indicates that the LEI will be used for CRD IV risk reporting, significantly expanding the


How many types of risk are there to a financial institution?  In recent years the list has grown from patently quantifiable risks – market, credit, liquidity – into more nuanced forms of risk, such as conduct risk and systemic risk.  However, increasingly ambitious regulation and certain key legal decisions have brought with them a new


How will the PRA, FCA, and CMA manage conflicting competition mandates? On 24 July, during the second reading of the UK’s Banking Reform Bill, it was stated that a new competition objective will be given to the PRA.  UK banks now find themselves with three national competition regulators jostling for position, not to mention those


Counterparty classification regimes, such as CRD IV and EMIR, give banks a good reason to centralise their reference data, and the BCBS’ Risk Data Aggregation Principles provide a clear framework for doing so. From 1 January 2014, under CRD IV, firms will need to calculate CVA and hold additional capital on all derivatives contracts.  However,


It is common knowledge that the central clearing and risk mitigation requirements apply to any third country firm trading with an EU entity.  However, it may come as a surprise that these requirements can also apply to trades purely between two third country entities where such trades have a ‘direct, substantial and foreseeable effect with


Why EMIR has some banks threatening to stop trading derivatives by 15 September. Under EMIR there are three kinds of counterparties: financial (FC), non-financial (NFC), and non-financial over the clearing threshold (NFC+).  By 15 September, FCs and NFCs trading derivatives with one another must agree in writing the joint steps to be taken to mitigate


The European Banking Authority (EBA) has finally published its final draft Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) (here) on supervisory reporting for CRD IV. Long awaited, the technical standards set out the near-final reporting requirements, as part of COREP, for own funds, financial information, losses stemming from lending collateralised by immovable property, large exposures, leverage ratio and


Before ESMA left for their summer holidays, they made it abundantly clear that EMIR will apply in one form or another outside of the EU.  This threatens to disrupt trading flows globally as early as 15 September. By this date, parties trading derivatives must agree in writing the arrangements under which OTC derivative portfolios will


Given the exponential growth of reporting requirements since the crisis, firms often ask: ‘Where does all this data go and who has the time to look through it all?’  In fact, recent statements by regulators have made this question all the more valid given that regulators’ data systems, it is increasingly apparent, often suffer from


INSEE approved as first French pre-LOU

INSEE has now gone live as the first French pre-LOU able to issue pre-LEIs. Details can be found on their website here (in French) . Translation below: The G20 has approved the unique device for intentifying market participants (global LEI system, GLEIS) agreed at the June 2012 Los Cabos Summit, which will facilitate the management


In May, the CFTC’s Bart Chilton characterised regulatory cost benefit analyses a “sword of Damocles” calling out for more qualitative data. Since then, multiple no-action letters and a court case against the SEC have shown that there are deep-seated issues with CBAs that regulators are having trouble keeping below the surface. For the SEC and


Out of the shadows, into the rulebooks?

Shadow banking could soon force infrastructure upgrades and additional business costs– will the industry find ways to ease the pain? As repos, securities and, potentially, CCPs become part of the transparency agenda via new shadow banking regulation, this could result in infrastructure upgrades and increased business costs looking set to be on their way in


New, prescriptive EU clearing obligation rules will require new counterparty classification and monitoring systems. Is this a standard data hub opportunity? With EMIR having entered into force on 16 August 2012, and the release of final draft technical standards by ESMA in September, firms will soon be facing rules on clearing obligations and eligible counterparty


Managing, aggregating and maintaining risk data used to be a box-ticking exercise with easily achievable targets. In 2013, landmark new global requirements mean firms will face a big step up. Over the past few years, regulation in the area of risk management information (MI) was fairly basic. In 2011, the FSA, like their US cousins,


Check your SYSC benchmarks

The Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (SEC, FINRA, NYSE) has released an assessment of 19 firms regarding their controls to prevent misuse of material, non-public information. While not legally binding, this development is important because this is the first comprehensive statement in years regarding a regulatory view of a firms systems and controls for


In their latest landscape assessment of Basel III, the EBA came to a conclusion regarding a problem the industry has been grappling with for a long time: rules that aren’t detailed enough lead to uneven outcomes in data reporting, aggregation and assessment. The report finds that, while data quality from national regulators has improved and


HFT: On the brink of definitive new controls?

Thanks to technological hiccup after technological hiccup, High Frequency Trading (HFT) remains a permanent fixture in the financial press. With each blip, regulators and politicians promise to regulate HFT, but how they are going to put effective controls in place is still an open question. Despite the noise, the issues with HFT remain the same.


Record keeping: The EU raises the global bar

Most of what the MEPs voted into law in July required ESMA to define exactly what they meant in their record keeping demands legislated through EMIR. Unfortunately, a few clauses slipped through the net in the drafting process… One of these was regarding record keeping which, according to experts, means that, as of 16 August,