In the Trenches of Data Management
Banking's data management challenges remain stubbornly persistent despite years of regulatory attention. This panel, moderated by Samir Dahmani, explored the practical realities facing institutions as they navigate overlapping data initiatives and enduring implementation struggles.
The PRA's Future Banking Data project signals regulatory ambition to modernise how banks report information. Meanwhile, initiatives like IReF and BIRD promise greater standardisation across jurisdictions. Yet speakers were frank about ongoing difficulties implementing BCBS 239 principles, which have been in place for over a decade.
Data consistency and reconciliation continue plaguing institutions, with multiple systems holding conflicting versions of supposedly identical information. The theoretical appeal of golden source models collides with the messy reality of legacy infrastructure and organisational silos. Speakers discussed lineage automation as one potential solution, alongside strengthened data quality governance and self-reporting frameworks that shift responsibility closer to data creators.
The conversation turned to artificial intelligence's emerging role in data management. AI tools show promise for improving data quality, automating reconciliation, and identifying anomalies. Better data practices could transform relationships between banks and supervisors, enabling more sophisticated analysis while reducing reporting burdens.
The panel concluded that while progress feels slow, improved data management offers genuine opportunities. Getting fundamentals right. Accurate, consistent, traceable data remains the foundation for everything else financial institutions want to achieve.
Panellists:
- Tom Henderson, Head of Division - Data, Systems, Change & Operations, Bank of England
- Ruth Doubleday, Head of Prudential Regulation, Building Societies Association
- Ffion Acland, Global Lead of Global Banking, Markets Data Modelling and Data Analytics, Goldman Sachs
- Dawd Haque, Market Initiatives, Regulatory Transformation & Strategy, Deutsche Bank