Building harmonious relationships with regulators

Financial services firms and their senior managers should step up and proactively manage their relationships with regulators. Jeannette Lichner shares practical tips.

Jeannette Lichner (jeannette.lichner@fticonsulting.com) has spent the last 30 years in the financial services industry primarily as a senior executive and more recently as a consultant. She is a senior managing director at FTI Consulting and head of the governance, risk and regulatory practice. Numerous firms have asked Jeannette to run ‘education sessions’ for senior executives and board members, including with regard to implementing the Senior Managers Regime.

The implementation of the Senior Managers Regime has had significant effects on the firms involved – one of which has been increased expectations of regulators to engage in dialogue with all Senior Management Function holders (SMFs); not just a limited few and compliance leaders. The SMFs need to ensure they are prepared, which includes ‘speaking the regulators’ language’. And firms are advised to support them in their endeavours.