Throughout 2020 and 2021, financial services firms have had to respond and adapt to a number of regulatory challenges in an unprecedented fashion. Firms now have to navigate a diverging regulatory landscape as a result of Brexit, at the same time as continuing to respond to an array of pandemic-related risks that have arisen. Nevertheless, the time for complacency has passed and the regulators expect firms to have fully implemented and carefully adjusted their systems and controls to manage operational and financial crime risks they have identified. In a report for Financier Worldwide Magazine, we have outlined the key regulatory challenges and opportunities for firms throughout 2021 and beyond. These include the following:
- Focusing on improving operational resilience through conducting lessons learnt exercises and stress-testing against pandemic and non-pandemic related risks, as well as making sure firms continue to test their risk assessments, crisis management and business continuity policies
- With remote working here for the foreseeable future, continuing to appropriately manage conduct and financial crime risks arising from difficulties in overseeing employee activities
- Anticipating an increase in investigations and enforcement action against individuals under various individual accountability regimes
- Expecting a growing tension between the need for commercial viability and an accelerated regulatory focus on forbearance for vulnerable customers and the need to treat them fairly
- Increasing regulatory focus on how well firms are adapting to the growing number of Environment Social and Governance (ESG) obligations and disclosures in both the EU and the UK
The full report is available here. Should you wish to find out more about how firms can meet their changing regulatory obligations, please get in touch.