The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England have announced plans to develop their data and analytics capabilities.
The two authorities said that they depend on access to high-quality data to help maintain monetary and financial stability, market integrity, effective competition and consumer protection.
Through a new five-year data strategy, the FCA intends to make greater use of advanced analytics and automation techniques to deepen its understanding of how markets function and help it to predict, monitor and respond to firm and market issues. Alongside investment in new technology and increased use of external data, the regulator said it will pursue a broader transformation, investing in skills and new ways of working to enable it to better understand and use data and innovative technology.
Separately, a discussion paper published by the Bank of England sets out proposals on improving the timeliness and effectiveness of data collection from firms across the financial system.
“Advances in technology are changing the nature of the firms and markets we regulate,” said Christopher Woolard, executive director of Strategy and Competition at the FCA. “Our Data Strategy provides a clear path for us to ensure we have the necessary skills and processes in place to remain at the forefront of this change. In keeping with our Mission, a data-driven approach to regulation allows us to anticipate harms before they crystallise, better understand the effect on consumers of changing business models and to regulate an increasing number of firms efficiently and effectively.”
Sam Woods, deputy governor for Prudential Regulation and CEO of the Prudential Regulation Authority, added: “Having the right data is vital to our role as a regulator, and to the ability of banks and insurers to manage themselves effectively. Recent developments in technology should allow us to improve how we collect data from firms, making reporting more timely, more effective and less burdensome for firms.”
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Tags: automation, data analytics
