Delving into KYC - Management Responsibility, Data Utility, Monitoring Efficiency
Jinfo Blog

By Chris Porter

Abstract

Chris Porter highlights key articles from the recently launched FreePint Topic Series: What You Need to Know Your Customer (KYC). Initial articles have included a look at changes in focus for the UK's Financial Conduct Authority, including the sensitive topic of management's personal liability; an overview of key current KYC themes from up-and-coming vendor, RDC, under the intriguing title "Making the Impossible Possible"; and an in-depth product review of regulatory tracking service Reg-Track. More is to come on issues such as budget and workload trends and attitudes to outsourcing.

Item

The FreePint Topic Series: What You Need to Know Your Customer (KYC) has kicked off with a lively set of perspectives on current issues in KYC.

Getting the Culture Right - From the Top

An article by Andrew Lucas, Changing Compliance Culture in the Financial Sector, digs into a speech by Tracey McDermott, director of Enforcement & Financial Crime at the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), at a recent Risk & Compliance summit organised by Thomson Reuters.

The article looks into the desire of the FCA to drive a change in the culture of financial services companies. McDermott also spoke of the very real responsibility of senior managers to set that culture, and the consequences of their not doing so - "in order to achieve credible deterrence, senior managers must be held to account".

Financial Compliance Data Utility?

Andrew Lucas also highlighted another perspective on KYC issues of the moment in a wide-ranging conversation with Tom Obermaier, CEO of compliance data and services company Regulatory Data Corp (RDC).

The Q&A with RDC - Making the Impossible Possible delves into the idea of a "big data" utility where financial institutions could contribute compliance-related data to a common platform. The Q&A looks into the reasons which recently led RDC to open up a European office and explores compliance drivers for particular industry sectors and regions.

Tracking Regulatory Change - Homing In on the Essentials

Another intriguing and practical insight into today's KYC/compliance world comes in a Product Review of Reg-Track, from the US-based company Reg-Room. I was fascinated to hear from Nick Paraskeva, Reg-Room CEO, about the time and resource pressures on compliance professionals and the way in which Reg-Track aims to help them monitor and disseminate key regulatory developments as efficiently as possible.

What's Coming?

Soon to be published in the FreePint Topic Series: What You Need to Know Your Customer (KYC) is an article by business researcher and regular FreePint contributor Sophie Alexander giving an overview of findings from surveys on compliance issues. Looking to benchmark your organisation on compliance budget, workload and outsourcing trends? You will find some useful data here.

Also imminent is a window on the current thinking of one of the leading data vendors in the KYC space, Dow Jones.

A Q&A interview with Joel Lange, managing director of Dow Jones Risk and Compliance, will range over issues including main current areas of activity and change; regional variations; do-it-yourself versus subcontracting approaches; key current buying centres and emerging needs; and differing delivery options.

Editor's Note

This article is part of the FreePint Topic Series: What You Need to Know Your Customer (KYC) running from July-September 2014 which includes articles, reviews and expert tips. Register your interest now, and you'll also get a free PDF report with selected premium articles when it's published in September.

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