Following the Rules

Today’s guest outlines the steps UK institutions, and their regulators could take now to prevent London from losing its status as a global clearing hub. He details the regulatory changes to equity markets and pension fund rules that UK lawmakers should consider to ensure the City retains its global leadership in financial services post-Brexit. And he explains how a proposed 2017 merger between the London Stock Exchange Group and its German rival Deutsche Börse could have helped London better navigate some of its most complex Brexit issues.

These are all subjects he is considerably well-versed in because Xavier Rolet ran the London Stock Exchange Group as its CEO for nine years until November 2018. Since then, he has held a number of CEO and chairmanship positions across major global financial institutions including the hedge funds CQS and Shore Capital.

Today’s guest outlines why, in a time of significant cuts to public services, the UK government should consider increasing funding for the Serious Fraud Office, the UK’s top prosecution agency for white collar crime. He also lays out the case for significantly simplifying the workload of the UK markets watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority and offers tips for those looking to pursue a career at the regulator.

Sasi-Kanth Mallela is a former regulator and criminal prosecutor. His 22 year career includes stints as a case controller at the SFO and as a technical specialist in the enforcement division of the FCA. He left the FCA in June to join consulting firm Ankura, where his work includes advising financial services firms on their risk and compliance obligations.

***PODCAST NOTES***

This podcast was recorded before Liz Truss resigned as Prime Minister.

Today’s guest explains how he would like to see the UK parliament’s influential Treasury Select Committee change to best regulate new asset classes like crypto. He details the regulatory priorities he believes the next UK government should have to future-proof the UK financial services sector. He also outlines his concerns around the UK markets watchdog’s ability to cope with its ever-expanding to-do list, and outlines how parliamentarians can best address the issue now to help the City remain competitive post-Brexit.

Lord Chris Holmes is an award-winning Paralympian, who has been a Conservative peer in the House of Lords since 2013.

Today’s guest explains why the UK’s financial sector could be heading towards another major financial scandal and what City regulators and firms under their remit can do now to prevent such an event from coming to fruition. He outlines how he believes the UK markets’ watchdog’s approach to policing City behaviour must change to better enable finance firms to adhere to their expectations. He also details the compliance challenges that he sees arising from the current cost-of-living crisis and explains how compliance teams should best respond.

Antony Whitehouse is a former regulator at the Financial Conduct Authority’s predecessors and who has also held several senior roles in compliance at some of Europe’s largest banks. A former UK Head of Compliance and Global Head of Fixed Income Compliance at BNP Paribas and UK head of compliance at Natixis, Whitehouse has also spent three years running the influential compliance committee at trade body the Association for Financial Markets in Europe. Since July, Antony has been advising on compliance issues as a consultant at Whitehouse Compliance Advisory.

Today’s guest discusses what regulators and lawmakers should consider in their efforts to rethink regulation for UK insurers post-Brexit. She explains what UK watchdogs should be doing now to foster innovation within the insurance sector, and how regulators themselves could innovate to improve rule-making for financial services firms generally. She also challenges City bosses in their approach to gender diversity within the financial services sector, and outlines how she plans to grow her new business to best reflect the lessons she has learned with regards to fostering diversity of talent.

These are all subjects close to her heart. Because Mary O’Connor is not only a former regulator whose 30-year career includes senior positions in the insurance sector. She also became the first women to head up a professional services firm in the UK when she became acting CEO of KPMG in 2021. In 2022, she joined Howden Broking as CEO of its new business Howden CAP (Capital, Advisory and Placement).

Today’s guest details how European regulators are changing their approach to regulating Europe’s markets and what that means for the financial services firms under their supervision. He outlines the tools Europe’s top finance watchdogs are missing in their efforts to better police European markets, and how he believes national European regulators need to fill the gaps in regulatory expertise created as a result. He also explains why finance bosses should be preparing now for an upcoming set of European accountability rules similar to the UK’s senior managers and certification regime and plenty more in between…

Dr Michael Huertas is Frankfurt-based lawyer whose 14 year career has included stints the European Central Bank and Lloyds Banking Group. Since 2021, he has been advising some og the world’s largest financial services firms as a partner and head of the European financial institutions regulatory group at PwC Legal.

Today’s guest explains why he was reluctant to pursue an aspect of Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s proposed financial services reforms while in office. He calls on UK regulators to rethink the way they interact with the financial services industry and lays out the case for a fundamental review of the fees the UK markets’ watchdog charges the financial services firms it polices. He also opens up on his frustrations while spearheading the UK’s post-Brexit financial services reforms through parliament and discusses his plans for the future.

John Glen has been a member of parliament for Salisbury since 2010 and became the longest-serving City minister ever when in the post from 2018 to 2022. This is his first interview about his time in office since he resigned from his ministerial role in July citing a “complete lack of confidence” in Boris Johnson’s premiership. The interview was conducted in his Westminster office.

Today’s guest outlines what she believes a UK government under prime minister Liz Truss will really mean for the country’s financial services sector. She explains why it’s time for the UK’s markets' watchdog to take a regulatory pause, and why a rethink of the FCA’s industry levy is needed. She also details what UK lawmakers missed in relation to post-Brexit reform of finance and what City execs can do now to shape the reform agenda.  

Becca Park is a former lawyer who was previously director of corporate affairs for the trade body UK Finance, and a member of the Executive Committee for the European Banking Federation. In 2021, she joined consulting group Global Counsel where she has been advising financial services firms on policy and regulation as its senior director for the financial services practice since 2022.

Today’s guest details the EU and UK regulatory concerns that he believes should be keeping the world’s largest hedge funds up at night. He calls on UK lawmakers to do more to address what he sees as an urgent need for a UK fund vehicle to help the country’s asset management sector better compete with its rival European hubs. And he warns of the unfortunate regulatory repercussions arising from politicisation of the European rulemaking process.

Leonard Ng is a member of the executive committee and co-head of the UK and EU financial services regulation group at US law firm Sidley Austin.

Today’s episode is a special one produced in association with ComplyAdvantage, a UK-headquartered technology firm providing global financial services companies with the tools to counteract financial crime.

Today’s guest explains how companies can best use their sanctions compliance processes to gain a competitive advantage and he details what could be done to prevent cryptocurrencies from being used as a sanctions evasion tool. He also outlines how lawmakers and regulators risk alienating new businesses from coming to the UK and the actions they could take to ensure the country’s financial services sector remains globally relevant.

Charlie Delingpole is a former JP Morgan banker turned technology entrepreneur. In 2010, he set up MarketFinance, a corporate financial solutions company which raised $59M in funding before Delingpole’s departure in 2014 to become founder and CEO at ComplyAdvantage.