Compliance is not enough

Samantha NowellSuneeta Padda

A keynote presentation from Samantha Nowell of (Sea Change London) and Suneeta Padda (Padda Consulting) last week highlighted to what extent the UK regulator is pushing brokers and other financial services firms to risk manage themselves. Going well beyond the usual business contingency plan, UK regulators will demand that brokers prepare their operation to weather truly tough times (think cyber-attack during a pandemic) and that they test and document their actual degree of resilience.
EIOPA is following these developments closely; expect other regulators to be watching as well. The underlying motivation for these new requirements is to protect consumers from the fallout of failed financial services firms. The effect on brokers? Our own risk management will need to be even more stringent and even better documented than before.