Lucy McNulty Podcasts

As UK watchdogs continue their drive to stamp out aspects of poor culture within the financial services sector, those tasked with responding to the many ongoing and upcoming regulatory requirements can easily feel overwhelmed. Today’s guests outline what financial services bosses and board should do to cut through the regulatory noise while still b…

Today’s episode is a deep dive into the culture of the UK’s top financial watchdogs: the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. In it, I reveal that the FCA received 38 allegations of bullying, harassment racism and discrimination taking place within its ranks in 2020, 2021 and 2022, while the PRA received three such r…

Today’s guest outlines how she expects financial services bosses and the policymakers setting their rules will adapt to a “paradigm shift” in global geopolitics that will see China get increasingly assertive, US more protectionist and Russia more aggressive. She details the investment opportunities that she believes will arise from these changes to…

Today’s guests detail the opportunities they believe that lawmakers missed when drafting their plans to regulate crypto-assets in the UK. They explain how financial services regulation could be improved if the industry’s watchdogs did more to integrate technology underpinning crypto-assets into their operations. And they offer advice to compliance …

Today’s guest outlines what City bosses are getting wrong in their efforts to improve the culture of the organisations under their management. He explains the anthropological tools that financial institutions’ boards and leaders could use to both better understand the causes of - and prevent - bad behaviour amongst their employees. And he outlines …

Today’s episode is a special one produced in association with Clausematch, a regulatory technology company providing financial services companies in the UK, US and Asia with solutions to address challenges within policy management and regulatory change. Today’s guests call on financial services regulators globally and the companies they supervise t…

Today’s guest outlines how the UK’s markets watchdog is adapting the way it works and resources its teams to ensure it is fit to meet its ever-expanding remit. She calls on City workers to be “a bit more understanding” about the Financial Conduct Authority’s limits as it navigates this growing to-do list, to speak out if the regulator is “getting s…

Today’s episode is a special one produced in association with Smarsh, a US-headquartered technology firm providing global financial services companies with the tools to capture, store, and monitor their communications. Today’s guest outlines why it’s imperative that regulators and the financial services firms they supervise work together now to det…

Today’s guest was the first person in the world to be jailed for rigging the London interbank offered rate a benchmark that helped to determine interest rates or mortgages in sizeable corporate loans. He is also one of the only bankers to be sent to prison after the financial crisis. Tom Hayes is a former UBS and Citigroup trader who spent half of …

Today’s guest outlines where in the financial services sector compliance professionals will be able to find new jobs and salary increases in the coming months, and where we can expect a slowdown in recruitment. He details the common mistake finance bosses make when hiring and promoting back-office expertise and how to avoid them. And he explains wh…

Today’s guests set out how financial services firms should best respond to the now myriad and rapidly-changing environmental, social and governance requirements in existence worldwide and the steps they should take now to prepare for formal or informal challenges to their ESG credentials. They outline the role of legal and compliance staff as well …

Today’s guest explains what he believes the right regulatory response to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX would be. He details the policies UK lawmakers and regulators should consider as they seek to more closely police all things crypto while also establishing the City’s as a competitive finance hub post-Brexit. And he outlines what EU policyma…

Today’s guest urges UK lawmakers to create a replacement body to the audit, actuarial and accounting watchdog the Financial Reporting Council “as fast as possible”, almost four years after such a move was first recommended. She lays out the case for the UK government to prioritise better, simpler rule-making over more regulation when looking to ref…

Today’s guest outlines how she believes UK lawmakers and regulators can best retain and grow a competitive fintech hub both in a tough economic period and the City’s new post-Brexit era. She details the achievements of the UK’s approach to open banking, and offers advice on how to move this initiative forward. These are ideas we should see feed thr…

Today’s guest calls out UK finance regulators for their vocal opposition to proposed new government powers that would see lawmakers able to call watchdogs in to explain aspects of their approach to policing the City, arguing that such a stance is both “self delusion” and “constitutionally wrong”. He calls on the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority to …

Today’s guest outlines the steps UK institutions, and their regulators could take now to prevent London from losing its status as a global clearing hub. He details the regulatory changes to equity markets and pension fund rules that UK lawmakers should consider to ensure the City retains its global leadership in financial services post-Brexit. And …

Today’s guest outlines why, in a time of significant cuts to public services, the UK government should consider increasing funding for the Serious Fraud Office, the UK’s top prosecution agency for white collar crime. He also lays out the case for significantly simplifying the workload of the UK markets watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority and o…

Today’s guest explains how he would like to see the UK parliament’s influential Treasury Select Committee change to best regulate new asset classes like crypto. He details the regulatory priorities he believes the next UK government should have to future-proof the UK financial services sector. He also outlines his concerns around the UK markets wat…

Today’s guest explains why the UK’s financial sector could be heading towards another major financial scandal and what City regulators and firms under their remit can do now to prevent such an event from coming to fruition. He outlines how he believes the UK markets’ watchdog’s approach to policing City behaviour must change to better enable financ…

Today’s guest discusses what regulators and lawmakers should consider in their efforts to rethink regulation for UK insurers post-Brexit. She explains what UK watchdogs should be doing now to foster innovation within the insurance sector, and how regulators themselves could innovate to improve rule-making for financial services firms generally. She…

Today’s guest details how European regulators are changing their approach to regulating Europe’s markets and what that means for the financial services firms under their supervision. He outlines the tools Europe’s top finance watchdogs are missing in their efforts to better police European markets, and how he believes national European regulators n…

Today’s guest explains why he was reluctant to pursue an aspect of Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s proposed financial services reforms while in office. He calls on UK regulators to rethink the way they interact with the financial services industry and lays out the case for a fundamental review of the fees the UK markets’ watchdog charges the financial …

Today’s guest outlines what she believes a UK government under prime minister Liz Truss will really mean for the country’s financial services sector. She explains why it’s time for the UK’s markets' watchdog to take a regulatory pause, and why a rethink of the FCA’s industry levy is needed. She also details what UK lawmakers missed in relation to p…

Today’s guest details the EU and UK regulatory concerns that he believes should be keeping the world’s largest hedge funds up at night. He calls on UK lawmakers to do more to address what he sees as an urgent need for a UK fund vehicle to help the country’s asset management sector better compete with its rival European hubs. And he warns of the unf…

Today’s episode is a special one produced in association with ComplyAdvantage, a UK-headquartered technology firm providing global financial services companies with the tools to counteract financial crime. Today’s guest explains how companies can best use their sanctions compliance processes to gain a competitive advantage and he details what could…

Today’s guest details the problems he sees arising from the City reforms proposed by the candidates vying to become the UK’s new prime minister. He outlines his plans to address the issues he sees at the UK markets watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority. And he explains why he fears that the current drive to innovate compliance could ultimately d…

Today’s guest outlines how he believes UK markets watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority is falling short in its efforts to clamp down on poor behaviour amongst City bosses. He details what regulators are doing now to more closely track the culture of financial institutions under their watch, and what the firms in question are getting wrong in th…

Today’s guest reveals how one of the world’s largest banks navigates regulatory change. He outlines what his bosses want to know when the UK appoints a new Prime Minister, and he details what he believes needs to happen to ensure the UK financial markets remain competitive post-Brexit. Richard Kaye has spent the past seven of his 26 year career at …

Today’s episode is a deep dive into the Financial Conduct Authority’s efforts to tackle finance workers’ misbehaviour outside of the day job. In it, I reveal that the FCA received 746 notifications of such misconduct amongst senior City staff in 2020 and 2021. Of those, 646 related to breaches of Covid restrictions. Together with today’s guests, we…

Today’s guest details what finance bosses should be doing now to better manage future compliance crises. He reveals what he really wants from his senior compliance executives and the common mistakes those in that role make when interacting with top bosses at any business. He details what UK lawmakers missed when it came to post-Brexit reform of the…

Today’s guest warns that the compliance sector risks a major skills shortage in its junior ranks. He reveals why the majority of regulatory technology solutions can not live up to their promise. He unpicks the compliance challenge created by the increasing regulatory focus on environmental, social and governance matters and he outlines the skills h…

Today’s guest outlines the vast compliance challenges that financial services companies with a European presence must tackle to ready themselves for the world’s first far-reaching set of rules specifically targeting the development and use of artificial intelligence. She warns that more than 80% of finance firms polled are currently ill-equipped to…

Today’s guest outlines how he believes the Financial Conduct Authority’s ever-expanding remit could impact its drive to become a data-led regulator. He reveals some common mistakes financial services firms make when interacting with the watchdog. He explains why he thinks the UK's asset management regulatory framework could benefit from a fundament…

Today’s guests lays out the case for an ambitious clampdown on economic crime and the way it is currently policed in the UK. He calls out UK regulators for their lack of proactiveness in addressing the issue and calls on financial services execs to help him shape the best possible path forward to rid London of its dirty money problem. Kevin Hollinr…

Smarsh is a US-headquartered technology firm providing global financial services companies with the tools to capture, store, and monitor their digital communications for compliance purposes and to glean useful insights. Today’s guests explain why regulators are right to be concerned about finance execs use of encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp …

Today’s guests details how the ongoing war in Ukraine could fundamentally change the established business models and regulatory policy-making in Western financial markets, lays out the defence for central banks in their response to the inflationary scenarios that the outbreak of war has contributed to and sounds the alarm on the market risks that p…

Smarsh is a rapidly-growing technology firm providing financial services companies with the tools to capture, store, and monitor their communications. Today’s guests explain how the world’s largest companies are tracking staff behaviour and the alternative revenue-generating uses for the data collected as a result, outline the ethical guidelines th…

Today’s guests explains how financial services firms can best prepare now for the industry’s rapidly-changing compliance requirements, and outlines the skills compliance officers will need to remain relevant in the back office of the future. Louise Rodger is the director in the compliance and policy division at trade body the Association for Financ…

Today’s guest outlines why some of the largest financial services firms in London risk serious knowledge gaps in the 'engine rooms' of their compliance teams and reveals the skills most in demand as recruitment for compliance roles reaches record highs. Tom Boulderstone manages the compliance & financial crime team at headhunter Barclay Simpson, wh…

Today’s guest lays out the case for more concrete rules around ESG investment, and for the UK government to deliver on the regulatory commitments it has made to bolster the UK market for fintechs. Chris Woolard helped to shape the UK regulatory landscape as the former interim CEO of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority before moving to EY where he …

Lucy McNulty introduces a new podcast for those seeking insight into the rules shaping UK and EU financial services and the people responsible for understanding and implementing them.By Lucy McNulty