11 September 2017

Hedgeweek: Political uncertainty has delayed preparation for new regulatory compliance, says DST

New research by technology, strategic advisory, and operations outsourcing company DST shows that political uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the result of the last UK general election has delayed the regulatory compliance process of one in four financial services firms.

The research, titled ‘Regulatory strategy in Financial Services: how firms are approaching data and compliance’, found that just one third (33 per cent) of financial services organisations say they are prepared for key upcoming regulations such as MiFID II and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The survey also revealed that more than half of respondents (53 per cent) say that the level of regulatory scrutiny has increased in the last year. In comparison, just 9 per cent believe it has fallen during that period.

DST surveyed 100 financial services professionals to better understand the key issues firms are facing with regulatory compliance. The survey looked to uncover how prepared organisations were for key regulations as well as the barriers to achieving compliance progress.

When looking at resources, the research found that nearly half (49 per cent) have increased the number of compliance professionals within their firms in the last five years, with 41 per cent expecting an increase again this year to cope with regulatory demands. Again, almost half (49 per cent) say they will spend more on compliance this year than last with just 9 per cent saying spending will fall. Worryingly, a third (35 per cent) of those surveyed are not confident they have the necessary technology in place to comply with regulations such as MiFID II and GDPR.

The survey also asked professionals about their biggest compliance worry and found that almost a quarter (24 per cent) said it was the rise in personal responsibility, ahead of being behind schedule for complying with key regulations (19 per cent), a lack of understanding of the regulator’s requirements (14 per cent) or lack of compliance skills (12 per cent).

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