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FCA Calls for Input: Developing Regulatory Technology ‘RegTech’

26th November 2015

This week the FCA has asked the industry for input in relation to supporting the development and use of technology to help firms meet their regulatory requirements.

Subsequent to the financial crisis, the FCA recognises that firms have to deal with greater reporting requirements and meet ever higher regulatory standards, as Tracey McDermott’s also pointed out in her speech last month on the changing nature of UK financial regulation. As such, to assist firms with managing their regulatory requirements and reduce the cost of maintaining compliance, regulatory technologies that will help firms do this need to be developed and supported.

In the Government’s March 2015 Budget, HM Treasury announced that the UK regulators (the FCA and PRA) would ‘identify ways to support the adoption of new technologies to facilitate the delivery of regulatory requirements.’ The FCA advise they are keen supporters of the development of Regulatory Technology, or ‘RegTech’ for short, and are looking forward to their role in the innovation and adoption of this new initiative.

“The information provided by stakeholders will help us refine our understanding and future approach, and identify how we (the FCA, academia, accelerator programmes, FinTech firms, the financial services industry and others) can work together in order to create a regulatory environment”

FCA, Call for Input: Supporting the Development and adoption of RegTech, November 2015

Having spent the summer investigating and researching how best to support the development and adoption of RegTech, the FCA thus far believe their efforts should be concentrated upon:

Provision of regulatory expertise – The FCA would provide clarification on the UK regulatory regime and of what RegTech firms would need to do in order to be compliant with.
Supporting the current RegTech environment – The FCA would aim to work with the technological community and the financial services industry to identify appropriate areas of interest and emerging themes to help increase the development and adoption of RegTech.
Standards and guidance – The FCA would provide further clarity on their expectations in relation to the use of RegTech by regulated firms in order to support the development of shared standards and best practice.
Addressing barriers to entry, innovation and adoption – The FCA would seek to understand any barriers to entry, innovation and adoption of RegTech and address these where possible.

With Financial Services companies being encouraged to use new technologies to meet their regulatory requirements, the Financial Conduct Authority now poses a number of questions so that the industry can have their say on how RegTech is developed and what technologies would really aid their businesses meet their regulatory requirements.

Whilst there has been no deadline set for comments, the FCA advises for input to be considered during their initial workshops in Q1 of 2016, then feedback would need to be received soon.