RegTech Forum 2026 - Panel: Living in a world of constant regulatory change

As financial institutions navigate an increasingly complex regulatory environment, adapting to evolving requirements across jurisdictions remains a significant challenge. The Living in a World of Constant Regulatory Change panel explored how firms can manage regulatory divergence, strengthen data governance and modernise reporting processes while balancing compliance obligations with operational efficiency and commercial priorities.

International alignment must account for local differences. Global regulatory standards provide a common foundation, but differences in legislation, market structures and domestic priorities mean that requirements are not always implemented consistently. Firms operating across multiple jurisdictions must understand these local nuances and ensure their reporting frameworks can accommodate different interpretations and obligations.

Strong data governance is fundamental to consistent reporting. Clear data definitions, standardised data dictionaries and traceable data lineage help ensure information can be interpreted accurately across jurisdictions and reporting requirements. As regulatory expectations evolve, firms need robust data foundations to maintain consistency, accuracy and confidence in their submissions.

Proportionality and simplicity must deliver practical benefits. Simplifying regulatory requirements can reduce unnecessary reporting burdens, but frameworks must reflect the size, complexity and risk profiles of individual firms. Similarly, more granular rules can improve risk sensitivity, yet introduce additional operational complexity. Effective regulation must strike a balance between meaningful oversight and manageable implementation.

Granular reporting increases the importance of data quality and accountability. As regulators request more detailed information, firms need stronger reconciliation processes to connect granular submissions with existing regulatory returns, investigate discrepancies and explain reported figures. Clear ownership, senior oversight and effective governance are essential to maintaining accuracy and accountability as reporting obligations expand.

Successful implementation depends on communication and collaboration. Translating complex regulatory requirements into practical business language is critical to ensuring teams understand what needs to change and why. Training and collaboration across regulatory, risk, technology and customer-facing functions can help embed new requirements effectively. Ongoing dialogue between firms and regulators is equally important, enabling unintended consequences to be identified and helping ensure policy remains workable in practice.

Automation can help firms manage growing reporting demands. Modernising legacy systems and automating manual submissions offers opportunities to reduce repetitive work, improve efficiency and free up resources for higher-value activities. However, firms must also maintain the flexibility and expertise needed to respond to changing requirements without compromising data quality or control.

Ultimately, managing constant regulatory change requires adaptability, forward planning and a strong data foundation. By investing in flexible reporting systems, clear accountability and effective collaboration, financial institutions can respond more effectively to evolving regulatory expectations across jurisdictions. The challenge is not simply to keep pace with new rules, but to implement them in a way that supports accurate reporting, proportionate compliance and sustainable business outcomes.

Panellists:

• Max Gerard, Solutions Consultant, Suade (Moderator)
• Ian Warren, Chief Financial Officer, iFast
• Tamiko Bayliss, Head of Banking Capital Policy, Bank of England
• Judy Zhu, Head of Regulatory Reporting; Bank of China
• Jina Kim, Head of Financial & Regulatory Reporting, Redwood Bank

This summary captures key themes from the discussion. Individual contributions have not been attributed to participants, in accordance with the Chatham House Rule.