Following the Rules

PRA CEO Sam Woods on life at the helm of the UK's top finance regulator and his regulatory priorities for 2024 and beyond

Today’s guest outlines what’s to come in a new package of tougher global capital requirements known as Basel 3.1. He explains how banks can best prepare for the reforms and discusses the prospects of a delay to their implementation in the UK.
He outlines how the Prudential Regulation Authority is responding to a new obligation to consider the impact of their activities on the UK’s growth and competitiveness.He also opens up about life at the helm of the UK’s top finance regulator, his thoughts on what he’ll do once his tenure as CEO of the PRA comes to an end, and plenty more in between.Sam Woods’ career began at consulting giant McKinsey, and includes 23 years guiding or advising on various aspects of UK financial services policy and regulation.  Since 2016, he has overseen the UK banking and insurance sectors as head of the PRA and the deputy governor of the Bank of England.
 
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Links of note:
Monsters in the deep? − a speech by Jonathan Hall, the Bank of England's external member of the Financial Policy Committee, referenced by Sam Woods around 32 mins into the episode.
The 'Carrington Event' − referenced by Sam Woods 40 mins into the episode.
 

Former FCA CRO Gavin Stewart on the compliance risks that City watchdogs may have missed, and how UK regulation and regulatory operations should be improved

Today’s guest explains why the UK could be sleepwalking into a new compliance scandal, and he details where such a blow-up might originate.
He outlines how he believes financial services regulation could be improved – both by policymakers in government and the regulators themselves.
And he details what opportunities for financial services reforms he believes the new Labour government should prioritise in the months ahead.
Gavin Stewart’s career includes 13 years at the Bank of England, 10 years at the Financial Conduct Authority’s predecessor the Financial Services Authority and just under four years at the FCA, including a two-year stint as its chief risk officer.  He worked at consulting group Grant Thornton for six years before leaving in early 2023 to write a book.

Special episode: Symphony's Ben Chrnelich maps out the future challenges and trends in communications surveillance

Today’s episode is a special one produced in association with Symphony, a secure and compliant communications and technology platform built for financial markets & trading teams.
Today’s guest details how bosses at some of the world’s largest financial institutions are responding to increasing regulatory pressure to keep track of their employees’ communications across myriad messaging platforms.  
He outlines how compliance professionals and their bosses should best navigate the rapid proliferation of AI tools within the financial services sector. And details how he expects communications surveillance compliance to develop in response to the challenges ahead in 2024 and beyond.
Ben Chrnelich is president and chief financial officer at Symphony.

Hanbury Strategy's Sander Schol on the likely future for the City and its regulators under a Labour government and how a new approach to UK-EU relations could benefit financial services

With just days to go until the UK goes to the polls, today’s guest outlines what City executives can expect from a Labour administration. He discusses how he expects the relationship between the new government and finance watchdogs to develop and why regulators may well see a new secondary objective land on their plate.
He also details how he believes relations between the UK and the European Union will change following elections in the bloc, and will change following elections in the bloc, in ways that could ultimately be beneficial to the financial services sector.
Sander Schol’s 20-year career includes stints helping to decipher policymakers and governments’ approach to financial services for bosses at some of Europe’s largest financial institutions, including JP Morgan and BGC Partners. Since 2021, he has advised businesses on policy relating to financial and digital services as head of European public affairs at political consultancy Hanbury Strategy.
 
 

Federated Hermes' Saker Nusseibeh on the need for less political ambivalence towards the City, and how fund managers and regulators could rethink their approach to ESG

Today’s guest calls on politicians on both sides of the UK’s political spectrum to reconsider their ambivalence towards the City and to do more to promote its achievements in the run up to next month’s election and beyond.
He outlines where fund managers and regulators may want to rethink their approach to investments within the environmental, social and governance space.
He also explains how finance workers can best navigate upcoming and increasing geopolitical volatility, and plenty more in between.
Saker Nusseibeh is Chief Executive of the London arm of Federated Hermes, a US investment manager with $778bn in assets under management. In 2020, he was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list for services to Responsible Business and Finance.

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.