Quickly:
- Machine learning, advanced analytics and natural language processors dominated conversations at yesterday’s RegTech program at NASDAQ’s MarketSite.
NEW YORK — Where will technology take us next? As many banks embrace digital tools and strategies, they inevitably grapple with regulatory uncertainty. This naturally creates friction in terms of staffing levels, operational expenses and investment horizons. With so many regional and national banks continuing to grow in size and complexity, the responsibility to provide appropriate oversight and management escalates in kind.
Likewise, as more and more community banks rely on technology partners to transform how they offer banking products and services, management teams and boards of directors grapple to assess how such relationships impact compliance programs and regulatory expectations. Can technology truly deliver on its promise of efficiency, risk mitigation and greater insight into customer behavior?
To address questions and observations like these, my team hosted the Reality of RegTech at NASDAQ’s MarketSite on April 18. Entering the MarketSite, we aspired to surface ideas for banks to better detect compliance and regulatory risks, assess risk exposure and anticipate future threats by engaging with technology partners.
Over the years, our annual one trek to NASDAQ’s New York home afforded us opportunities to:
- Learn how BNY Mellon encourages innovation on a global scale;
- Identify where early-stage technology firms realistically collaborate with financial services providers; and
- Explore lending strategies and solutions for community banks.
This year, we focused on the intersection of technology with regulation, noting that banks can and should expect an overall increase in regulatory constraints on topics including supervision, systemic risk (such as stress tests), data protection and customer protection.
For Forward-Thinking Banks
At Bank Director, we see the emergence of regulatory-focused technology companies helping leadership teams to bridge the need for efficiency and security with growth aspirations. However, understanding how and when to leverage such technologies confounds many executives. As our Emily McCormick wrote in advance of the event, forward-thinking banks are looking within their own organizations to figure out how the deployment of regtech fits into the institution’s overall strategic goals while matching up with culture, policies, processes and talent.
Key Takeaways
- RegTech is, by its very nature, constantly evolving. Current solutions focus on one of two things: reducing the cost of compliance via automation or leveraging technology to deliver more effective compliance.
- The flip side to the promise of these solutions is a skepticism and concern by both regulators and banks that RegTechs really are in this for the long-haul, are reliable and “safe” to work with.
- A first step for banks not already using RegTech? Develop an implementation road map for one specific need (e.g. BSA / AML) which aligns to the overall strategic vision of the organization (in this case, a desire to grow through acquisition).
Interesting Reads on RegTech
Multiple presentations touched on how and where banks can maximize the potential benefits of their RegTech endeavors by addressing key risks; for instance: uncertain development paths, provider reliability, increased regulatory scrutiny, limited judgment and privacy concerns. For those looking to go deeper on these issues:
- PwC authored a Regulatory Brief that discusses (a) how banks are using RegTechs, (b) the current RegTech landscape, and (c) what banks should do to prepare for RegTech.
- Continuity offers an e-book along with a step-by-step system for predictable, repeatable compliance results.
- Ascent blogs about the impact of artificial intelligence on regulatory compliance in its Top 5 Ways AI in Compliance Will Affect You in 2017.
Multiple members of the team shared insight and inspiration with #RegTech18 on Twitter (usually tying into our @Fin_X_Tech and @BankDirector handles). Finally, be sure to check out BankDirector.com (no subscription required) as our editorial team offers up a number of perspectives on RegTech and this year’s event.
About That Ratio 