Following the Rules

Former FCA chair Charles Randell, Latham & Watkins' Mark Austin, QCA's Linda Main and Baroness Bowles on what lawmakers, regulators and City execs need to do to help London's capital markets thrive

Today’s episode is a recording of a recent panel discussion at the annual conference for the Quoted Companies Alliance, which is an organisation that campaigns for the UK’s community of small and midsized publicly traded businesses and the firms that advise them.
I was invited to moderate a panel on what more our regulators can do to support capital markets for companies of all sizes and we discussed where regulators and policymakers have hit the right mark in their efforts to bolster London’s capital markets, where they have missed opportunities, how market participants themselves need to step up to support their efforts and plenty more in between.
I hope you enjoy it. 

Schroders' Jamie Ovenden, Julius Baer's Sarah Gadd, Slaughter and May's Jan Putnis and Turing fellow Professor Carsten Maple on how the City and its watchdogs can responsibly harness GenAI's potential

Today’s episode is a little different to normal. It is a recording of a recent panel discussion from City Week’s AI in Financial Services Leaders Summit which took place in London last week.
I was invited to moderate a panel on the transformative potential of generative AI and we discussed interesting use cases for genAI in the financial services space, how boards and senior managers can best manage the risks relating to the new technology, how regulators could help market participants embrace the opportunities presented by GenAI responsibly and plenty more in between.
I hope you enjoy it.
 

FRC CEO Richard Moriarty on the highs and lows of his role and his plans to make the accounting watchdog "more strategic"

Today’s guest outlines how he is shaping the Financial Reporting Council into a “more strategic” organisation focused on proportionate oversight of auditors, accountants and actuaries.
 
He explains what support he needs from lawmakers and industry as he navigates that task, alongside setting standards and codes in the public interest, and discusses the FRC’s changing regulatory priorities more broadly in the face of shifting political and market dynamics. 
 
Richard Moriarty’s career spans three decades and includes stints as CEO of the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority and as partner at political risk consulting firm Flint Global. In October 2023, he took over as CEO of the Financial Reporting Council.
 

LGIM's Sonja Laud on boosting London's IPO market, navigating Trump 2.0 and being 'the only woman in the room'

Today’s episode has been produced in partnership with City Week, an annual agenda-setting international financial services forum which brings together more than 1,000 senior decision-makers from UK and overseas financial institutions for a comprehensive programme of cutting-edge presentations, panel discussions, social events and networking.
Today’s guest will be speaking at City Week on the growth prospects for sustainable finance and investment post-COP28. And it is in that context that she spoke with Following the Rules about how lawmakers and financial services executives can best support the global transition to a net zero economy. She also offers her views on how UK policymakers could encourage more companies to list in London.
She outlines how she believes the investment management industry should approach international investment decisions over the long term and navigate upcoming and increasing geopolitical tension and political uncertainty globally.
And she offers advice on how to get comfortable being “the only woman in the room” in a male-dominated industry.
And she should know. Because over the course of a 23-year career, Sonja Laud has held several senior roles within the asset management industry including a stint as head of equity at Fidelity International. Since 2019, she has worked as Chief Investment Officer at Legal & General Investment Management.

Special episode: Global Relay's Alex Viall on the compliance tool helping finance bosses to better police their employees' use of unmonitored communications channels

Today’s episode is a special one produced in association with Global Relay, a technology firm providing global financial services firms with the software to capture, store and monitor their employees’ communications.
Today’s guest discusses how financial institutions in the US and UK are responding to regulatory pressures to more closely track their employees’ communications, as well as to foster operational resilience and promote good conduct amongst their staff.
He explains why one particular compliance tool is proving especially effective in helping firms promote good behaviour amongst their workforce and outlines how some finance bosses are starting to push back on regulators’ aggressive record-keeping clampdown.
He also offers guidance on how financial institutions can best use technology to address their emerging compliance risks, including a check list of essential questions he believes everyone should ask any prospective regulatory technology provider.
Alex Viall is the Chief Strategy Officer at Global Relay.

Government affairs guru Lisa Rabbe on what to expect from Trump 2.0, and how lawmakers and finance workers can best navigate 2024's mega election year and the AI technological revolution

Today’s guest discusses the policy and regulatory outlook for artificial intelligence in the US, UK and EU and outlines how policymakers, regulators and City bosses can best manage the risks arising from the financial industry’s increasing use of AI technology. 
She details the policies that she would like politicians in the US and UK to prioritise ahead of elections in both jurisdictions.
She outlines how finance giants’ government affairs heads can best navigate these upcoming elections (and a potential return of President Trump).
And calls on politicians to avoid “political point scoring” in the run up to both votes.
Lisa Rabbe has spent more than three decades guiding some of the world’s largest financial institutions through regulatory and policy changes affecting their businesses. Her career includes stints as head of government affairs for Europe, Middle East and Africa at US giant Goldman Sachs and Chief Government and Public Affairs Officer at credit rating agency Moody’s.

Special episode: Global Relay's Rob Mason outlines how finance bosses and their regulators are preparing for an expected clampdown on employees’ social media use

Today’s episode is a special one produced in association with Global Relay, a technology firm providing global financial services firms with the software to capture, store and monitor their employees’ communications.
Today’s guest outlines how financial services companies and their regulators are preparing for an expected clampdown on employees’ social media use. He outlines how an increasing regulatory focus on City workers’ behaviour in and out of the day job is changing their bosses approach to capturing and monitoring their communications. And he details how firms are using new technology to address compliance pain points when dealing with communications supervision.   
Rob Mason is director of regulatory intelligence at Global Relay.

Halsey Keetch's Alex Keetch outlines how finance bosses and those running their control functions can best navigate opportunities and challenges in today's job market

Today’s guest outlines how finance bosses can best support those running their risk, audit, and compliance functions to avoid serious disruptions in future.
He cautions that without such investment in their governance, regulatory and controls functions, financial institutions risk inducing regulatory fatigue and provoking “flight risk” amongst valued senior staff.
He also details how he believes senior risk, audit and compliance professionals should navigate today’s job market and changing work environment, and plenty more besides.
Alex Keetch is Managing Director at Halsey Keetch, an executive search firm that specialises in placing senior leaders onto financial services company boards and within their risk, compliance, financial crime, and internal audit departments.

Special episode: Global Relay's Jennie Clarke on the surveillance blind spots that could lead to compliance blow-ups at global finance firms

Today’s episode is a special one produced in association with Global Relay, a technology firm providing global financial services firms with the software to capture, store and monitor their employees’ communications.
Today’s guest highlights the surveillance blind spots that pose “massive” compliance risks to large sections of the financial services industry. She explains why an aggressive clampdown on bankers’ WhatsApp use, as seen in the US, is unlikely to be copied by UK watchdogs. And she details how a regulatory crackdown on City workers’ behaviour outside of the day job is influencing their bosses approach to capturing and monitoring their communications.
Jennie Clarke is head of content at Global Relay.

Special episode: Smarsh’s Shaun Hurst on the compliance challenges ahead for those monitoring finance employees’ communications

Today’s episode is a special one produced in association with Smarsh, a global technology firm providing regulated organisations of all sizes with cloud-native digital communications capture, retention, and oversight solutions to help them identify regulatory and reputational risks within their communications data before those risks become fines or headlines. 
Today’s guest details what he believes will be this year’s most pressing challenges for compliance professionals tasked with monitoring their employees’ communications.
As part of that, he offers guidance to compliance teams navigating the rapid proliferation of AI tools within the financial services sector, as well as to those responding to regulatory pressure to more closely track their employees’ use of encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram.
He also details how he expects communications surveillance compliance will develop in response to the challenges 2024 brings. And plenty more besides.
Shaun Hurst is Smarsh’s principal regulatory advisor for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.