Compliance Monitor

There's never a dull year in financial regulation and 2024 has proved no exception. Emma Radmore examines where we are ending the 12 months - whether some developments that we expected have occurred, what has taken us by surprise and what to look forward to in 2025.

With yet another mis-selling cleanup in process, this time in motor finance, the regulator has issued a Call for Input "to better identify and manage mass redress events to ensure better outcomes". The Financial Conduct Authority should take a hard look at its own role in these recurrences and avoid "regulation by lobby group" rather than expertise, warns Adam Samuel.

Though we live in the digital age, companies face an ever-increasing regulatory burden when transferring personal data outside of the EU and UK - amid a complex web of differing jurisdictional approaches, compliance gaps and onerous expectations. Miriam Everett explores the legal challenges.

Following international initiatives on climate-related financial disclosures as well as nature-related financial disclosures, a new coalition of companies, financial institutions, labour representatives and development organisations is working on a framework for inequality and social-related financial disclosures. Charlotte Witherington and Daniel Hirschfield review the launch paper of the TISFD, which sets out the taskforce's proposed scope, approach, governance structure and workplan.

Though the United Kingdom has no purely AI-focused regulatory framework, financial services firms should prepare themselves for heightened supervision over their deployment of AI and ensure compliance with a multitude of diverse and broadly-focused requirements. Alexandra Green and Michael Sholem set out how to approach this task.

Challenger retail bank Starling expanded far quicker than its capacity to maintain compliance with sanctions screening as well as other financial crime control requirements - and has had its wings clipped by the regulator. Denis O'Connor examines the final notice.