Following the Rules

FCA deputy CEO Sarah Pritchard on the regulator's to-do list as it navigate new rules, new risks and "uncertain" times

Today’s guest sets out the Financial Conduct Authority’s to-do list for 2026 and beyond.
She details the watchdog’s plans to future-proof UK financial regulation, and outlines what City firms should expect as landmark reforms, including new rules on non-financial misconduct, begin to bed down.
She discusses the FCA’s efforts to build a more open relationship with financial institutions and explains why a more collaborative partnership between regulator and regulated is crucial in the face of unprecedented and rapidly evolving geopolitical, technological and market risks currently shaping financial services.
She also outlines how the watchdog is balancing growth and competitiveness with its core duty to protect consumers and markets and explains why it will continue to push for clearer political accountability to support that task.
Sarah Pritchard’s near three-decade career includes senior roles at banking giant HSBC and the UK’s National Crime Agency. She joined the FCA in 2021 to lead its Supervision, Policy and Competition division and was appointed the regulator’s first Deputy Chief Executive in 2025.

How to handle non-financial misconduct without damaging organisational culture, with former Standard Chartered surveillance chief Emily Wright and conduct risk consultant Emma Parry

Today’s episode is part of a Following the Rules series delivering practical guidance on navigating legal, regulatory, technological and cultural change.
In this episode, we turn to one of the most challenging and fast-evolving areas of regulatory focus: non-financial misconduct. With the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority set to introduce new rules this year that explicitly bring serious non-financial misconduct within scope of the conduct rules, expectations on firms to identify NFM, address it early, and evidence fair and consistent outcomes are rising fast. And this isn’t just a UK story: regulators globally are paying much closer attention to culture, behaviour and individual conduct.
So what does good look like when regulatory guidance is deliberately principles-based? Why are firms still struggling to translate expectations into defensible decisions? And how can they respond to lower-level misconduct in a way that genuinely supports culture, rather than quietly undermining it?
Joining me to explore these questions are:- Emily Wright, a compliance and conduct consultant with over 20 years’ experience, including senior roles at Standard Chartered, JP Morgan and ICAP, and,- Emma Parry, the Founder and CEO of NovaFin Consulting and former Global Head of Product Governance and Conduct in HSBC’s Global Banking and Markets division.
Together, we unpack what the FCA’s rule changes mean in practice, where firms are getting stuck, and why remediation, not just punishment, is becoming a critical part of the conduct conversation. We also discuss the launch of the Conduct Compass, a new framework designed to help firms address non-financial misconduct earlier, more consistently, and in a way that drives real behavioural change.
If you’re grappling with how to make conduct frameworks work on the ground, and how to get ahead of regulatory expectations on culture, this episode is for you.
 
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Download the Conduct Compass white paper here: https://go.ewrightconsulting.com/free-conduct-compass-wp-lm

Special episode: How to modernise trader voice technology to better meet today's regulatory demands with Symphony's Ben Chrnelich and Antoine Stephen

 
Today’s episode is a special one produced in association with Symphony, a secure and compliant communications and markets technology provider, offering messaging, voice, directory and analytics for financial markets and trading teams. 
It also forms part of a new Following the Rules series providing practical, actionable guidance to help listeners and the financial services firms they work for navigate legal, regulatory, technological, and cultural change. 
In this episode, we turn to a part of market infrastructure that is mission-critical but often overlooked: trader voice. As firms grapple with hybrid working, rising regulatory expectations, and growing scrutiny around operational resilience and third-party risk, the case for modernising legacy voice technology is becoming harder to ignore.  
So why has trader voice remained so static for so long? What has changed to make transformation both possible and necessary? And how should firms be thinking about compliance, surveillance, and governance as they move away from traditional on-premise turret systems? 
Joining me to explore these questions are: 
Ben Chrnelich, CEO and president at Symphony, and  
Antoine Stephen, head of product management for Symphony's Cloud9. 
Together, they share their perspectives on the regulatory pressures shaping investment in trader voice, the practical realities of moving to cloud-based and software-driven solutions, and how data, analytics and AI are set to reshape voice communications on the trading floor in the years ahead. 

FRC CEO Richard Moriarty on cutting red tape, calling time on “dumb” compliance checklists and futureproofing the accounting watchdog without the legislative powers he was promised

Today’s guest is leading the UK’s audit regulator through reform without the legislative powers originally promised. Two years into the job, he argues the Financial Reporting Council is acting anyway, using proportionate, common-sense regulation to support growth and investment.He sets out a pragmatic agenda for keeping UK audit credible and relevant, covering everything from market concentration and SME audits to AI and the future talent pipeline.
He explains why the watchdog has stripped back governance and stewardship codes, warning that over-prescription has driven box-ticking and weakened board accountability. He defends comply-or-explain as a strength of the UK system and urges companies to be braver in using it.
And he renews his call for political action to back his reform agenda in peacetime, before the next corporate failure forces Parliament’s hand.
Richard Moriarty is Chief Executive of the FRC, the UK regulator responsible for audit, corporate reporting and governance.
 

Special episode: How to prepare for the next wave of crypto regulation

Today’s episode is part of a special series of Following the Rules, produced in association with Simmons & Simmons, an international law firm supporting financial institutions across the global regulatory landscape.The series offers practical insights to help firms navigate legal, regulatory, technological and cultural change.
Today, we’re examining one of the most complex shifts in modern financial regulation: the process of bringing crypto into the regulatory perimeter.
Across the UK, EU and US, policymakers are rewriting the rulebook at pace - not only to manage risk, but also to reflect the rapid developments in digital finance. For firms, that means heavier compliance obligations, shifting expectations, and a genuine opportunity to help shape the rules ahead.
So what should businesses be preparing for now? Which parts of the regulatory agenda will hit hardest in the coming months? And how do firms avoid the strategic and structural mistakes that can derail applications or push innovation offshore, while positioning themselves to benefit from clearer rules?
To help unpack all of that, we’re joined by two people at the centre of developments:Gordon Ritchie, is a Managing Associate in the UK financial regulation team at Simmons & Simmons, advising firms across the evolving UK and EU crypto regimes; andTom Duff Gordon, is Vice President for International Policy at Coinbase, leading the crypto exchange’s engagement with governments and regulators globally as they design the next generation of digital-asset rules.
Together, they explore where the regulatory landscape is heading, how business models will need to adapt, and what firms can do today to be ready for, and benefit from, the regulatory wave ahead.---
Short on time? You can read the episode highlights on The Banker's Risk & Regulation hub...

Market Structure Partners' Niki Beattie on why, and how, we need to rethink how markets work

Today’s guest delivers a blunt warning to policymakers, arguing the UK has made “a massive mistake” by failing to stop trading venues from charging for market data - a failure she says has weakened the country’s competitiveness. She calls on the government to “wake up and listen” to the scale of the issue or risk losing ground to rival financial centres.
She also argues that the industry’s fixation on blockchain as a panacea to everything has been a decade-long distraction. She sees the real shift now reshaping markets as the move to 24/7 global trading, clearing and settlement. City bosses, she warns, must prepare now by overhauling legacy systems, or risk becoming obsolete.
And she sets out a bold vision for London: to use its existing market infrastructure to become the trusted global venue where any asset can be traded and transferred safely, 24/7, between counterparties.
Niki Beattie has been at the forefront of market infrastructure transformation throughout her career of more than 30 years in financial markets, including more than a decade as Head of EMEA Market Structure at Merrill Lynch International. She founded consultancy Market Structure Partners in 2008 and has extensive experience as Non Executive Director and Chair of public and privately listed firms in the international financial sector.   She is currently Chair of ClearToken, the UK digital-asset clearing and settlement house and a non executive Director of the Financial Markets Standards Board.
 
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Special episode: How to navigate a dawn raid with the SFO's Emma Isaac and Simmons & Simmons' Camilla de Silva

Today’s episode is part of a special series of Following the Rules produced in association with Simmons & Simmons, an international law firm supporting financial institutions across the global regulatory landscape.
The series offers practical insights to help financial services firms navigate legal, regulatory, technological, and cultural change.
In this episode, we’re diving into one of the most intense moments a business can face - a dawn raid.
When Nick Ephgrave took over as Director of the UK Serious Fraud Office in 2023, he’s pledged “swifter action and more dawn raids” - a clear signal that the agency is refocusing on proactive, visible enforcement.
But what does a dawn raid actually look like in practice? How should firms respond when investigators appear unannounced at the door? And how can businesses prepare, both legally and culturally, for such a high-pressure event?
To answer these questions, we’re joined by two experts on the topic:
Camilla de Silva, who spent over five years at the SFO, rising to Joint Head of the SFO’s Fraud, Bribery and Corruption division, before joining Simmons & Simmons in 2020 as a Partner in its Disputes and Investigations group. Since 2023, she has lead Simmons & Simmons’ Corporate Crime and Global Investigations group; and,
Emma Isaac, who worked as criminal legal adviser before moving to the SFO in 2013. In February, she became a member of the agency’s senior leadership team when she was appointed Joint Head of the SFO’s Fraud, Bribery and Corruption division.
Together, they discuss how enforcement dynamics are shifting, what mistakes companies tend to make under pressure, and what practical steps legal and compliance teams can take today to be ready if the SFO comes knocking.
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Short on time? You can read the episode highlights on The Banker's Risk & Regulation hub...

Graham Kent, Deutsche Bank's Group Chief Compliance Officer, on the compliance challenges shaping the industry’s future

Today’s guest outlines how the accelerating pace of regulatory change poses significant challenges for global financial institutions. He highlights that fragmentation can create a complex landscape for banks’ compliance divisions, and underscores the benefits of adopting a more coordinated, risk-based approach to rulemaking.
He also discusses how the industry could best evolve the traditional three lines of defence model, how banks can better anticipate risks and how banks and regulators can collaborate to achieve an effective balance between protecting markets and promoting growth.
Graham Kent’s career spans three decades and includes seven years as a lawyer at Clifford Chance. He joined Deutsche Bank’s legal department in 2006. He has since held several senior roles across the bank’s legal and compliance divisions before becoming its Group Chief Compliance Officer in 2024.
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Short on time? You can read the episode highlights on The Banker's Risk & Regulation hub...

Special episode: How to cut red tape for financial leaders while raising conduct standards with Penny Miller and Andrea Finn of Simmons & Simmons

Today’s episode is part of a special series of Following the Rules produced in association with Simmons & Simmons, an international law firm supporting financial institutions across the global regulatory landscape.
The series offers practical insights to help financial services firms navigate legal, regulatory, technological, and cultural change.
In this episode, we explore two closely-linked developments set to reshape the compliance agenda: reforms to the UK’s senior managers regime, and the FCA’s new rules on toxic workplace behaviour, which will bring bullying, harassment, and discrimination within the scope of regulatory misconduct from 2026.
So, what do these changes mean for senior managers and their teams? How can firms strike the right balance between cutting red tape and maintaining strong accountability? And how should legal, compliance and HR functions prepare for regulator’s growing focus on culture and non-financial misconduct?
Joining me to discuss these questions are:Penny Miller, who leads Simmons & Simmons' UK business and is a partner in its Financial Services Regulatory Group, advising global banks and asset managers on complex UK and cross-border regulatory issues and, Andrea Finn, a partner who heads the UK Employment and Pensions Group at Simmons & Simmons, specialising in employment and conduct matters, with extensive experience helping firms navigate the overlap between regulatory and employment law.
---Short on time? You can read the episode highlights on The Banker's Risk & Regulation hub...

Special episode: How to master compliant voice surveillance in financial services with Smarsh’s Ryan Kahan

Today’s episode is a special one produced in association with Smarsh, a technology firm providing global financial institutions with the tools to capture, store, and monitor their communications.
It’s part of a new Following the Rules series providing practical guidance to help financial services firms navigate legal, regulatory, technological, and cultural change.
In this episode, we look at a hot-button issue for regulators on both sides of the Atlantic: how banks and investment firms monitor voice communications. Even in an era of instant messaging, the most sensitive deals are still struck over the phone. And that makes voice communications a prime focus for watchdogs worried about misconduct and recordkeeping failures.
I’m joined by Ryan Kahan, the executive vice president of voice interactions at Smarsh, who has spent decades helping financial institutions navigate the complexities of voice recording and surveillance. We discuss why regulators are ramping up pressure on firms to capture and store calls, the common mistakes banks make when trying to upgrade their systems, how new technology could transform the field, and what practical steps firms should be taking now to stay ahead.
 
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Short on time? You can read the episode highlights on The Banker's Risk & Regulation hub...