Financial Services Compliance Blog - Thistle Initiatives

FCA transforming data collection

Written by Thistle Initiatives - Compliance consultancy | Jan 28, 2022 12:00:00 AM

What is happening?

In January 2022, the FCA announced that it is working with the Bank of England to transform how it collects data from the UK financial sector.

What do you need to do?

The FCA has explained that its work with firms on digital regulatory reporting and the Bank of England’s data collection review has shown that data collection presents many challenges for the regulators and regulated firms. FCA reporting is seen as one of the most demanding parts of regulation and the quality of data that the FCA receives is not always to the standard expected. Data needs have also evolved as technology and business models have changed.

To address these issues, the FCA has developed a joint transformation programme in cooperation with the Bank of England. This will identify how data collection should improve to increase the value and reduce the burden to firms.

The current phase of the programme started in July 2021. ‘Discovery and design’ for phase one use cases will end in March 2022. An ‘implementation’ stage, to be largely conducted outside the joint transformation programme, will run from July 2022 until Q2 2023. Phase two of the programme, which will focus on new use cases, will begin in July 2022 and will run in parallel with phase one.

The three areas of focus are;

  • Integrating reporting to increase consistency in designing and delivering collections for value, reuse, and efficiency,
  • Modernising reporting instructions to improve how data is interpreted and implemented by firms, and
  • Defining and adopting common data standards that identify and describe data in a consistent way.

The FCA has also announced that in 2022 it will broaden its engagement with solo-regulated firms to support them in engaging with the programme. It will update on its work in this area in the coming months.

Firms wishing to be involved or wanting to find out more can email TDCProgramme@fca.org.uk.

For further information about the approach taken, firms can visit the Bank of England’s transforming data collection page.

How can we help you with FCA reporting?

If you’d like to know more about how we can help you with your FCA reporting arrangements, or with any other regulatory compliance issues, our specialist team is here to help.

Contact us today on 0207 436 0630 – or email info@thistleinitiatives.co.uk.