Interpreting data for the regulators in 2021

Interpreting data for the regulators in 2021

What are the success criteria?

Do we even have that data? Do we have to derive that data? Does anyone collect that data? These are not uncommon questions heard in the halls of compliance and legal. And with 21,000 global regulatory documents up for perusal in 2020 alone, far too commonly asked.

No-one is suggesting that it would be easy for compliance and legal teams to choose one single bugbear when coming up for air. But we are confident that interpretation of the success criteria for regulatory data obligations is certainly a painful area.

A tipping point

It’s early days in 2021 but friend of the Xceptor podcast Unleash Your Data, PJ Di Giammarino assures me that “2021 is a tipping point.“ Could there be good news in the offing? PJ says the quest for digital standards that simplify complex regulatory reporting is on the cards.

The tipping point he is referring to is for derivatives. A Wikipedia of derivatives data that brings together a global community to codify market practice and define what good looks like.

If, as PJ says, “every actor in the financial services space is a data producer” then, he quite rightly surmises that, “how you define their governance ought to have baked in ‘how good is their technology, how good is their treatment of data because if data is an asset, then you need to be able to tell people how well you treat your assets. And that needs to be transparent.”

The road ahead

Throughout the podcast, PJ’s passion for the industry coming together is almost palpable. He and his firm, JWG, are intricately intertwined with the industry’s efforts in getting the right people at the table with a common objective to solve problems.

We know that poor data quality has overshadowed the industry for years, we also know regulators are taking strides in doing something about it. We are increasingly hearing of ‘suptech’ or the supervisory technology that is being created and how it is increasingly aligning with what the industry itself is doing. The challenges remain but for industry champions such as PJ, there is a road ahead and something to be chasing after.

What makes PJ tick?

That chase mentality might also be why he said that the key quality he admires in people is a ‘thirst for knowledge’. Beware if PJ ever gives you a flashlight or torch, he’ll be watching to see what you do with it first. Do you just let it sit there on the table or click the button to see what happens? He’s interested in understanding what makes someone tick, what motivates each one as an individual or brings them together for the greater good. He wants people to ask ‘why’, rather than, ‘ I was told to do it’. Those are the people that drive change, they get things done.